Leaves of Flame
by Himesayuri Phoenix
Summary: OC Hotaru: Genin Years 3. The Chuunin Exam is finally back in Konoha, and Hotaru's team is entered. Peril and confusion abound as Team 9 pushes past their limits meanwhile, a chance encounter with a Hyuuga unlocks secrets of Hotaru's past.
1. A New Mission?

For illustrations of some of the original ninja members of this exam, see my Scraps section over at DeviantArt. Yay!

**Mini Japanese Dictionary**:

(O)Nee-sama the super-respectful form of address for "Older Sister" (in the case of "nee-san," that's just a respectful term for a close older female acquaintance, not always an actual sister)

Mushin a samurai concept meaning "mind-no mind". The idea is, by by-passing thought, the body can react much faster.

Zanshin a samurai concept with no real translation; basically, an intensified state of awareness due to absolute superiority over the enemy. It is the best/strongest possible state of mind for a warrior. In this story, both mushin and zanshin have been converted into ninjutsu ;

Kunoichi female ninja

"Shugohakke, rokujuu yonshu!" Guardian of Eight Divination Seals: Sixty-four strikes.

A personally made defensive move by Hinata, derived from Neji's famous Kaiten move which she could not master. Not in manga; seen in anime Ep. 151.

Naruto, (Hyuuga Neji, Hinata, Tenten, Kiba, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Ibiki) and all of the ninja concepts from it © Masashi Kishimoto

For other © info, please see my previous stories.

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Genin Years Three:

Leaves of Flame – The Chuunin Exam

Chapter 1 – A New Mission?

I was kneeling in the small snow-filled clearing, an open space big enough for three in the midst of the "forest" of Training Area Six inside the walls of the Hidden Village of Snow. I say "big enough for three" rather than "seven" because one of our number was Rai, whose hippo form had grown in the past year as he matured along with Nariko. She was standing beside me, looking downward at my cupped hands.

"Now remember, Hotaru: the moment you feel the warmth, force the flames away from both hands. Compress it between them. If you really focus on pushing it away from both of your palms at once…"

"…it shouldn't burn me. I know the theory by now, Nariko."

"Sorry. Just making sure."

I sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. I don't want any accidents like last month either."

Rai snorted. "It was my new dress that got burnt, I don't see why you should be complaining."

"Hotaru was in the hospital for three days! And you shouldn't have been wearing a dress to training either."

"You just don't appreciate my feminine side." Rai pouted, and was quiet.

I laughed inwardly, but frowned down at my hands. The right one was still wrapped fingers to elbow. Not from the recent accident, though; I'd kept it wrapped since the original injury, a year ago in the Waterfall forests. It served as a reminder of my pact – _I'll train it. I'll use it. I'll never be a burden again._

Except this little "gift" of fire had caused more problems than it had remedied.

"Come on, Nari, I need you. I need to focus."

"Oh, right." She turned to me and summoned some water from the snow in the ground, manipulating it into a ball between her fingers, touching it only with her mind. This was Nari's Bloodline Limit, and it was her guess that my ability worked in a similar fashion.

I focused what chakra I could and forced it into my hands. After months of working on my own, I'd finally managed to call the flame at will. It was tied to emotion, for the most I could tell. At least, it required both desire and determination to call; like the first time, anger and frustration were the fuel. I pulled up the memory of that time, squinting in concentration until the familiar burning sensation coursed through my veins to my fingertips. The flame erupted half a second later. I struggled to force it into a compressed shape between my hands and – more importantly – away from my skin.

"Good! I think you're getting better," Nariko said. "Now, can you try to expand it? Move your hands away from each other slowly…" She demonstrated with her water.

When I tried, the flame burst to twice its size, then nearly extinguished itself, and then returned to the original size. I tried once more to force it to grow, but pulled my hands back instantly as the heat increased tenfold.

Unfortunately for me, I'd forgotten that the fire followed my hands.

Before it could do more than singe the ends of my hair, Nariko had dowsed the fire with her water. Thankfully, she had full control over the water, so I didn't even get wet.

I sat down in the snow, which had partially melted from the flame.

"I guess yours just doesn't work like mine." Nariko shrugged.

"Who knows? Ryuro hadn't a clue what I was talking about, when I told him. We don't even know that this is a Bloodline. Anyway, thanks."

"No problem…" She gave me one of her more worried glances. "Say, Hotaru, are you sure you should be doing this out here by yourself?"

"You're here."

"No, no. I mean, maybe you should tell Yukikage-sama. I bet if there was some secret Snow Village Bloodline, she'd know about it."

"I've asked her. She says Snow isn't old enough yet for any of the clans to have developed unique Bloodline abilities."

"But you've told her about this fire thing, right?"

"Well…"

We were interrupted just then as a fourteen-year-old boy wearing a green hoodie, trailed by a small cloud of camouflaged butterflies carrying tiny kunai, launched over a fallen log and into the clearing. "Hey, Hotaru-san!" He came to a screeching halt in front of me, Nariko, and Rai. He waved cheerfully at the other two before continuing. "Sutiibu-sensei says if we hurry, he'll treat us to sukiyaki! Says he's got something to tell us."

I rubbed at my left palm, a little scorched from the flame, and grinned. "No way. He hasn't treated us to dinner in a really long time. It must be important."

"Katana-nee-san thinks it's an A ranked mission or something. Anyway, hurry up!" He attached chakra lines to his butterflies and allowed them to carry him up through the trees in the direction of town. "Bet I can beat you there!"

Nariko smiled. "He's gotten talented, hasn't he?"

"Yep. Well, sounds like I'd better be going…don't say anything, okay? I don't want other people to know, not even Yukikage-sama. Not when the ability's just getting in the way."

An eyebrow rose, but she nodded. "Of course, Hotaru-san. Have a good dinner. Rai and I are practicing with Shiro so we'll be back late."

I nodded, and raced off at top speed.

The egg dripped from the meat lodged between my chopsticks as I eyed sensei suspiciously. Halfway through dinner – which he was inhaling joyfully – he hadn't said a word as to why he'd brought us there. Garuki, Katana and I ate in silence, hoping he'd notice and say something. It was Katana who lost her patience first.

"Okay, I give in. Why are we here?" she asked.

Sutiibu smiled placidly. "Why, to eat dinner, of course."

Katana merely stared.

"Ah, that's right, I almost forgot. We have a mission, and it starts tomorrow." Garuki and I leaned forward in our chairs. "It'll be a long mission. So bring plenty of supplies. And don't worry about high-altitude gear; it'll be plenty warm where we're going."

"Sensei?" Garuki waited, and when there was no immediate response, continued, "Where might that be?"

"Hmm?" Sutiibu asked through a mouthful of soba noodles. "Oh, we're going south. And," he went on, noticing that I was about to ask the next obvious question, "when I say a long mission, I mean about a month."

"Is it A-ranked?" Katana couldn't help asking.

"What? Of course not. But it should keep you plenty busy. As for the rest, you'll have to see."

"Is that all?" I asked. "That's interesting and all, but it's not exactly a reason to celebrate."

Sutiibu slurped up another soba noodle and watched me with a raised eyebrow. "You tell me."

_So it's a game,_ I thought. _He expects me to know. The only thing I can think of is my birthday, but that was nearly two weeks ago…_I drew in my breath, catching the attention of both of my teammates. Sutiibu merely continued to watch me with an amused grin.

"I know."

"Well for heaven's sake tell us already," Katana said.

I smiled at her. "I'd have expected you to know already. It's the beginning of summer. Our anniversary; two years as a team."

Garuki grinned, probably thinking back to our first mission, the test Sutiibu-sensei had set up for us. But it was Katana who caught on the quickest.

"Two years! But that means that we're…"

"Eligible for the Chuunin Exam," finished Sutiibu. "Well, of course. Where else did you think we'd be going for an entire month?" All three of us listened hungrily as he explained, "I recommended Team Nine without reservation yesterday when Yukikage-sama informed us of the exam date; we leave tomorrow morning."

"So are there any other Snow teams coming to the exam?" Garuki asked. We were tearing across the empty plains of Fire Country, still a good five days from Konoha Village even at top speed. Katana, Garuki and I were running while we conversed.

"Of course. You didn't think it would only be you guys, did you?" Sutiibu laughed. Unlike us, he was riding in a fancy purple convertible, with which we were supposed to keep up. The car was automatic, driven by chakra and intelligent enough to know the right direction to go. I'd only seen his summon once before, so when he called the car I was pretty shocked. Still, I'd expected he'd let us all join him. Turns out, we got to run. "Part of your training," he'd explained.

_Sheesh._

Garuki shrugged as he ran. "I don't know. All I know about Chuunin exams I learned from Shiro's team, and they were told to keep their mouths shut by the examiners."

I nodded. "We know there's a written test, and something with a forest, and a tournament. That's it."

"Ah," said Sutiibu, leaned back in the driver's seat with his arms behind his head. "Well in that case, you ought to ask your teammate. Or had you forgotten she's been in a Chuunin exam before?"

Garuki and I blinked and looked at Katana. Of course we knew she'd been to one; her teammates passed and she failed, and that's how she ended up with us. But it was as if that had been from a different life. We'd never known the Katana who took that exam. I'd forgotten entirely.

Katana glanced at Sutiibu. "What about the gag order?"

He winked. "That could hardly apply to one's own teammates, I think."

"Okay. First off, any team whose Jounin sensei recommends them can compete. Sometimes all of the ninja pass, other times only one or two. My year, it was six, I think. In a smaller village like Snow, more ninja normally pass; until our upper ranks grow large enough, of course."

"What are the exams like?"

"Well, it tends to vary a bit each time, but the first exam for us was a written exam. Only there was a trick to it."

"What do you mean?" Garuki asked.

"They weren't testing our knowledge. They were testing our spying abilities. They gave us impossible questions, and hid two Chuunin in the room who knew the answers. So we were supposed to find them, get their answers, and copy them without getting caught. My team passed that. Many teams don't."

"The numbers usually drop by half," Sutiibu put in.

"On top of that, this is a team-based exam nearly all the way through. So if one teammate was caught, all failed."

Garuki frowned. "Yikes."

Sutiibu nodded. "But you kids won't have any problems with that, will you? Your teamwork is top notch." I felt a little ill then, but Sutiibu caught my eye and smiled, easing my nerves.

_If sensei thinks I can do it, I need to have faith._ Easier said than done.

Katana continued. "The second exam was a five-day survival expedition with a twist."

I nodded; I knew a little about that one. We had been the guards for that during Nariko's first exam, when my fire ability first showed.

"Each team is given one of two scrolls. The object was to get one of each scroll, and all your teammates, to the central tower by the end of the exam."

"That sounds pretty straight forward," I commented. "Steal a scroll from another team and survive a few days in a forest. But why specify 'all your teammates?'"

Katana's face darkened. "It's obvious, isn't it? Another team-based exam. So if one of your members dies, you fail, no matter if you arrive with both scrolls."

"Dies?" Garuki's face turned white. "The Jounin wouldn't actually let that happen, would they?"

Sutiibu smiled from his purple car. "Of course they would. How else to truly test your abilities?"

I thought he was joking until I glanced back to Katana.

"That's right," she said, looking at me. "He's telling the truth. During my first exam, one of the Snow teams was disqualified when a boy on their team was killed in the forest exam. A rookie."

"No wonder you don't let us test right away," Garuki directed at Sutiibu, but

Sutiibu wasn't paying attention. His car slowed dramatically and he sat up straight in the seat; we slowed to keep pace.

"Garuki. Send a butterfly scout ahead, would you? That rock outcropping just ahead was supposed to be our camp for tonight, but it looks like someone's beat us there."

I looked around at the darkening red sky. Sundown had snuck up on me.

Garuki bit his thumb and made the summon while still running alongside the car. A camo butterfly with a small radio popped out of thin air, then sped faster than light ahead of us. A chakra line attached to Garuki let him see as the butterfly saw. He hopped in Sutiibu's car and closed his eyes to concentrate.

A few seconds later, he said, "They're Snow ninja! I don't recognize any of them, though." When he described them, Sutiibu smiled. We continued at top speed to the camping spot.

We arrived minutes later to the strange granite outcropping in the middle of the prairie, hardly large enough to be considered a cliff, but big enough to provide shelter if it rained. A forest could finally be seen in the far distance to the south. Under the shelter of the rock was a small fire, tended by four ninjas, one older than the rest.

"Must be another Chuunin exam team," I whispered to Garuki as we drew near them.

"Dai-san!" Sutiibu greeted the Jounin woman warmly. She had short, sort of spiky brown hair and looked as if she belonged in a work-out video, but she seemed nice enough. She and Sutiibu greeted each other with formal bows, but the twinkle in Sutiibu's crystal blue eyes said the two of them probably went way back. She wore a simple black and white outfit with the standard issue silver flak-jacket.

Sutiibu turned to us and grinned, motioning to the woman. "Kids, this is Dai-sensei. She was one of my first students, back when I taught at the Academy. Dai-san, these are my kids. Of course, you must recognize Katana-san."

Dai-sensei nodded, and began a conversation with our instructor which was apparently none of our business. Katana eyed the three younger ninjas sharply, narrowed her eyes, and sat on a rock ledge out of their earshot, then set about cleaning her large arsenal of kunai.

Garuki looked at me to see if I could interpret her behavior; when I couldn't, he only shrugged and climbed to the top of the outcropping, laying down facing the sky. I moved and sat beside Katana.

"You know them, don't you, nee-san?"

She nodded almost imperceptibly. "Remember when I said, during my first exam, a Snow team lost a member in the Forest of Death?" She motioned in the direction of the fire. "That's them. Snow's Genin Team Two."

I looked at them more closely. At the fire sat two boys. One was visibly older, though not as old as nee-san, as far I as could tell; he wore all white and silver, even a white forehead protector, with earflaps to protect from the cold. His hair grew out over the edge of the forehead protector, a pale blonde. His eyes were blue as ice, and his glance equally cold when he caught me looking.

"One of them must be new, then," I reasoned.

"Yeah." She looked up, then back to her kunai. "The dark-haired one. I don't know him."

'The dark-haired one' was the younger of the two boys. I didn't recognize him, so I assumed he was from the year below Garuki and I in Academy. While the other two team members talked, he was silent and stared into the distance. Attached to his forehead protector was a beaded eagle feather, and he wore a tan leather vest.

The last one, a girl, was turned away from me and difficult to see in the dimming light. But when she followed the elder boy's gaze and turned to see me, I gasped. Shoulder-length straight silver hair and bright violet eyes.

"You recognize the young one?" Katana asked, sounding bored. "You should. She's the youngest Ginkaze sibling. Kimi."

_Another of Yukiko's siblings! No wonder she looks familiar. _"She's like, nine!" I protested, but Katana cut me off.

"Twelve, actually. She graduated at nine. But come on, what else do you expect, coming from that family?"

The girl, Kimi, observed me momentarily before smiling and turning back to the fire. It occurred to me that this girl likely would have become a Chuunin as a ten-year-old rookie, if their teammate hadn't died. I wasn't sure if I should be jealous, awe-struck, or disbelieving.

"Were they any good? Before their teammate died, I mean?"

Katana sniffed. "All right, I suppose, for rookies. I hear Kimi was at the top of her class, but I'm not sure I believe it. Anyway, we only ran across them once, and my team already had both scrolls by then. We just let them be."

I was wondering if maybe she wasn't telling me everything when Sutiibu exited his conversation with Dai-san rather suddenly and called out, "Hey kids, come on over here. I, er, sort of forgot to introduce you all." His familiar sheepish grin beckoned us over. Garuki leaped off the high rock and walked over with me. Katana remained where she sat, sharpening steel.

"Dai-san, these are my students: Yoruhana Hotaru, Mikata Garuki, and," he gestured at Katana, "you know Takeyoshi Katana."

"You must all be quite talented, to land in this sensei's capable care," Dai responded. "And these are the genin in my charge." Gesturing at the blonde boy in white and the girl respectively, "Fuyuno Koori and Ginkaze Kimi, of course. And this one," pointing at the dark-haired boy, "is Cheveyo Nodin, although Kimi-chan calls him by his nickname, Kwahu. Cheveyo-kun joined us about six months ago and has been a welcome addition."

I did the math in my head. _That means Koori-san and Kimi-san were a two-man team for an entire year._ This would be an interesting group to watch, I thought.

"Good. Well, now that all the introductions have been made, go ahead and relax. But sleep well, we leave at dawn." He settled on a small rock at the bottom of the ledge and returned to conversation with his old pupil turned fellow Jounin. I made up my mind to introduce myself personally to the kids of Team 2, but as I walked toward them, a kunai thudded dangerously into the ground by my foot from behind. I turned to see Katana shaking her head at me.

Retrieving the kunai, I handed it to Katana and sat beside her once more. "What was that for?"

"You shouldn't get too close to them. They may be from our village, but at the Chuunin exam, they're enemies. It's kill or be killed there, literally; it won't do well to make friends."


	2. Mind Games and Sabotage

Chapter 2 – Mind-Games and Sabotage

Just under a week later, the forest and gates of the mighty village of Konoha, Hidden in the Leaves, came into view. We had traveled with Dai-sensei and her students for a day, but they had taken off early one morning when Sutiibu held us back for a half-day to train, and had arrived before us. When we reached the gates, a brown-haired boy with red face tattoos sitting on top of a large dog was guarding the way.

"Oi!" he said, staring us down. "I know you Snow ninjas are our allies, but what are you doing here? You need a pass to travel in our territory!"

Sutiibu stepped forward and presented his travel pass. "We have passes."

"I wasn't informed of any traveling ninja groups that would be arriving today," the ninja said in a raised voice.

"Eheh, well, we are a little late. We were supposed to arrive yesterday," Sutiibu laughed. "But surely you can check our passes and let us in."

"I can't let you pass."

The dog he was riding on yipped and growled.

Just then, a Chuunin ranked ninja with black hair tied into a spiky ponytail stepped through the door by the gate. "Kiba-kun. It's troublesome, but we have to let them in. Didn't you hear? It's time for the Chuunin exam."

"Why didn't you tell me?" the ninja named Kiba exclaimed, but he moved aside to let us pass, scowling.

The other ninja stepped forward to greet us. "You must be Team Sutiibu. It's troublesome, but you better hurry. The examinees should be at the meeting point before the end of the hour, or they'll be disqualified." He pointed us the way, and we hurried along the unfamiliar streets as quickly as possible.

"I apologize for not getting you here sooner," Sutiibu said as we ran, "but I thought it was best for you to train as much as possible."

"Stop talking and keep running," Katana said. "The sooner we get there, the better. There's no telling how they'll be weeding out people this time. We'll need time to check the entrance for traps."

Garuki looked over. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, but should I send a butterfly ahead? I'll check out the location if it would help."

"Good idea, kid," Katana admitted.

We reached the building in question, an old Academy building, about ten minutes later. Garuki hadn't spotted anything unusual through his link to the butterfly, but he camouflaged it and let it explore the building more thoroughly anyway. Katana was still suspicious. At the doors, Sutiibu-sensei halted.

"Well, this is as far as I can go, I'm afraid." He handed each of us a slip with his signature. "Here are your recommendation forms. I'll see you…hmm, probably after the second exam, if you get that far." He winked at me. "As I'm sure you will." And then he disappeared.

Katana examined Garuki and I carefully. "Look, guys. I don't want to put undue pressure on you, but we have to perform really well to pass this. Better than normal. Better than we're capable of. Are you ready?"

Garuki nodded. I watched him do so, paused, and then nodded myself. Katana eyed me. "Sure?"

"Y…yeah. Sure."

"You can rise to the challenge. But only if you believe you can, both of you. And remember, if Sutiibu says we're ready, then we are. Okay, let's go." As we entered and walked quickly through the empty hallway, she gave her last warnings: "Keep quiet. Don't draw attention to yourselves at all. Think out of the box, and if possible make sure we consult each other before doing anything. Garuki, keep a butterfly by both Hotaru and I as often as your chakra allows."

_So he can have her guidance, _I figured. _But wait. _"I know why you want him to pay attention to you," I said. "You're the expert on this. But why me?"

She glanced at me as we reached the Chuunin seated behind a table and handed in our registration forms, each given a small slip of paper with a number on it in exchange. "Because you're smart, kid. As long as you _think_." She rose an eyebrow at that.

I cringed, but nodded. "Duly noted." _She's right. I can't freeze up this time. People could die._ I took a deep breath and followed Katana and Garuki into a room marked "Chuunin Exam: Meet Here."

My senses were assaulted instantaneously; the room was packed overfull with ninjas from every village. Among the varied fashion styles from different countries, forehead protectors could be seen from Rock, Grass, Rain, Sand, Cloud, and Waterfall villages, as well as a few other Snow teams and a preponderance of teams from Konoha. I didn't recognize any of them originally, although one Konoha girl with her hair in two buns looked oddly familiar. Then I spotted a familiar face; too young to fit in with the crowd around her, Ginkaze Kimi looked back at me and smiled. Her teammates stood nearby.

No Jounin had entered the room yet to organize the hundreds of participants, so we were at least momentarily on our own. Katana was surveying the competition and making whispered comments to Garuki, who appeared to be taking mental notes of her suggestions. I felt the touch of an invisible butterfly on my shoulder and knew he had an eye on me too. I was about to join them, remembering Katana's earlier advice that we stick together, when the young Ginkaze girl approached me.

Her purple kunoichi dress, top styled in high-collared Chinese fashion, brought out her clan's violet eyes in a shocking fashion as they smiled back at me. They seemed too wise for her years. "You're the Yoruhana girl, right?"

I nearly laughed that she called me a girl, before I remembered that she could probably defeat me in under thirty seconds. "Yes," I said, expecting the usual, "You're the dropout's sister, right?" Years later, I was still judged by that.

But instead, she said, "The one with the weird flame attack, right?"

I gaped at her. "How…how do you know?"

She smiled serenely. "My sister told me. She knows everything, you know." Her eyes searched my face, laughing at my expression. "She's taken a liking to you, my onee-sama has. You must be strong."

Dumbfounded, I said nothing.

Kimi laughed, and glanced over her shoulder. "I should go. Koori-san doesn't want us talking to other teams. Take care of yourself, Yoruhana Hotaru-san." She returned to her group, ice-cold Koori staring her down the entire way. She merely laughed at him too, though she didn't stray from his side again.

I scanned the group of ninjas once again as I moved back towards Katana and Garuki. Kimi looked to be the youngest; I guessed the average age was about 13, the age of those one year out of Academy. There weren't many rookies, from the looks of things, and several of the Genin looked as much as Sutiibu's age. I sidled up to Katana and spoke quietly.

"How come some of them are so old?"

She snorted. "Because they never got good enough to pass the exam, of course. Those aren't the ones to watch out for. A lot of exam beginners make that mistake; they fear the older examinees, belittle the rookies. But it's backwards." She pointed to a group of Sand ninjas not far from us, a girl and two boys who looked particularly young. "Now, them? They're good enough to make it here as rookies. They're the ones to watch."

"The examiner's coming," Garuki said, and we looked toward the front of the room.

Bursting through a door on the opposite wall from us, the crowd parting instinctively before him, came a scarred bulk of a Jounin wearing his Konoha forehead protector as a bandana. "I am Morino Ibiki, proctor for your first exam. Follow me into the next room and take your seat by number. You should have received your numbers upon registration. Quickly, now, I don't have all day."

A little less than fifteen minutes later, we had all filed into the room behind Morino-san, which proved to be a typical Academy exam room, although a little larger in size than normal. Garuki was number 32, and was seated in the third row on the left before Katana and I even made it into the room, although I could still feel his butterfly's slight weight on my shoulder. I was 126, quite a few rows behind him; Katana-san was 131 and one row behind me to the left. As we split down our two rows, she whispered quickly in my ear, "It's just how I thought, the trick exam. We practiced for this. Remember what I told you!" That was all.

I settled in between a male Grass ninja and a Konoha kunoichi. _For the first part, just don't attract attention to yourself. _I relived Katana's instructions during our training. _Even though it doesn't matter if you score a single point, you're better off playing along. Get as many questions right as possible, just in case. Just _don't get caught.

I lay my hands on the table in front of me, palms up, and closed my eyes to meditate while the rest of the ninja were seated. _Focus, Hotaru. Focus._ I could feel eyes on me, those of the Chuunin ninja seated all along the sides of the room with their clipboards.

"We're all here," Morino-san's voice boomed. I opened my eyes. "The tests are being passed out; they are to remain upside down on your desk until I say. These are the instructions, and they will only be given once. You may not ask questions."

A Chuunin placed the exam in front of me. I took a deep breath.

"There are ten questions, and you have one hour. The tenth question will be given to you forty-five minutes into the exam. You start with ten points. For each question you get incorrect or leave blank, a point will be deducted from your exam. Success is based on team effort; at the end of the test your scores will be combined. If any one on your team receives a zero, all of your team fails.

"For each time you are caught cheating, two points will be deducted from your exam. If you fail due to cheating, you will be immediately asked to leave, along with your teammates. You have 45 minutes until the tenth question, starting now. Begin."

I glanced to either side. Some of the ninja had already figured it out; all around me, ninja were scanning around for the hidden Chuunin in their midst who knew the answers, performing spying techniques as quietly as possible. Some of the Chuunin guarding over us were already making marks on their clipboards, meaning they'd already caught cheaters.

_But we're supposed to cheat. We just aren't supposed to get caught._

For the first time, I looked at the questions on my test. They were very advanced, just as Katana-nee-san had said, but when I thought about it, I felt I could answer them. Sure enough; a few minutes later, I had the first worked out. It was a complex strategy question combining advanced trajectory mathematics and solid knowledge of foreign ninja techniques. But it was just that sort of thing that I had always been good at. I scribbled an answer. A twitch on my shoulder sent the butterfly to Garuki; he would benefit from my answers too. I knew the butterfly would return quickly.

Motion under the table to my left caught my eye. The Grass ninja beside me, a blond kid in a fishnet shirt, was rolling a note into a tiny tube with a needle on the end. He loaded it into a blow-dart gun, glanced to his left and right, and sent the tube dart forward at top speed. A female caught it mid-air as it passed her, opened it, and wrote an answer.

_This guy's using my answers to cheat, _ I realized. Remembering Katana's advice to sabotage as many cheating attempts as we could, I answered the next question, and while the ninja beside me copied it down I slid my hand down by my pocket and removed my forehead protector. When the ninja raised his dart gun once more, I flicked my forehead protector to catch the light, shining it at one of the Chuunin on the side. He looked up at the motion, saw the Grass ninja's attempt, and marked a check beside his name on the clipboard. The Grass boy saw and glared at me.

From then on, he proved much more difficult to catch. When I could no longer notice his movements, I turned my attention to the girl beside me, alternating answering the next several questions with using my forehead protector to catch the Chuunin's attention and call her out every time she cheated. Three times later, the Chuunin's voice rang out, "Number 127, and her teammates numbers 88 and 231, fail." The girl stood and walked shame-faced out of the room.

Forty-five minutes after the exam began, Morino Ibiki stood at the head of the room and announced that the first portion of the exam had come to a close, and it was time for the tenth question. Then, just as Katana had warned us:

"Before that, there is a special rule that will apply to the last question. It is pass or fail; pass the one question, and even if you have no other questions correct, you will pass the exam. Fail, however, and you not only fail this exam, but lose the chance to take the Chuunin Exam ever again."

My eyes widened slightly. _The wording is different. Different from what nee-san said._

"If one of your teammates fails, you all fail, and all receive this penalty. However, if you raise your hand and back out now, you and your teammates will still fail, but may return to take the exam in the future. It is your choice."

_Think, Hotaru! What is the analogy? _ This part of the test was an analogy to a situation Chuunin ninja might face. The answer lay in staying or going. When nee-san tested last, the correct answer was to walk away; those who left were herded to another room and told that they were the ones who passed. But the wording was different…

_Let's see…it's a catch-22, where to stay places you and your teammates in danger. So do you walk or stay?_

I gasped, drawing the attention of the Grass nin beside me, though I didn't care. Behind me, a confident Katana was about to raise her hand. Garuki too, to my front. Quickly and quietly as possible, I hissed, "Wait!" hoping that his butterfly would hear. His hand dropped. Katana noticed, behind me, and set her hand on the table as well, though not without a hard stare in my direction.

All around, hands were going up, and one by one three-ninja teams were dismissed. Noting that the Chuunin were busy with that task, I scribbled onto the corner of my paper in tiny writing, "A Chuunin cannot simply walk away from a dangerous situation. To walk is cowardice and forfeits the mission. The mission must come first."

Nine tables in front of me, Garuki turned slightly to look me in the eye. "Stay," I added to my explanation, and he nodded, seeing my writing through his butterfly's eyes.

But what of Katana? She couldn't see.

Looking above me, I noticed a set of mirrors controlled by wires had somehow gone unnoticed on the ceiling; a remnant of someone's spying methods. I eyed Katana, jerked my head to the ceiling to direct her glance, and pulled out my head protector once more. Using it as a mirror, I directed the writing on my test in a way in which reflected so she could see it on the ceiling mirrors. She frowned, looked at Morino-san and then the many ninjas raising their hands around her, then nodded almost imperceptibly in my direction. Her hands remained on the table.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was certain; the right answer, this time, was to stay.

Finally the hands stopped raising, the people stopped leaving, and a silence filled the room. The Grass ninja to my left had stayed, as had his teammates, and I wondered if he had seen my reasoning scratched onto the paper in front of me. Maybe he'd reached the same conclusion himself, but it was unlikely; less than a third of the original participants remained in the room.

"Is that all?" Morino-san growled. "Fine. All of you here…pass the first exam."


	3. Scroll Strategy

Chapter 3 – Scroll Strategy

"I'm still not sure I get it," Garuki complained as we walked in line with all the other remaining examinees, following a Chuunin to the location of our next exam. "I thought nee-san said we were supposed to leave, because it was a trick question."

"It was a different trick question, apparently," Katana said. She wouldn't look at me, although she had mumbled a "thanks" when we first left the room.

"Last time, the question was geared towards the knowledge of when to protect your friends by avoiding conflict. But the wording was different this time; like Morino-san explained after the exam, this test was a test of courage, of knowing when not to back down. As Chuunin, we'll face dangerous situations all the time, but that doesn't mean we should run away."

"Just like you wrote on your paper."

"Yeah, Garuki-kun, I guess so."

"Shut up, you two. We're here. We need to pay attention in case this part of the exam has changed too."

Sure enough, we had been herded into a large field outside a fenced-in practice area. Although it didn't look as if this particular practice area was used very often. A sign on the outside read "Forest of Death." As we waited for the next Jounin examiner to show up, I scanned the crowd to see who'd made it that far.

I saw the young Sand team that Katana had pointed out; her observation regarding rookies in the exam was proving correct already. The Grass ninja who sat beside me in the exam stood with his team not far away, as did the strangely familiar Konoha girl and her teammates; I still couldn't quite place her. And then…

"Yoruhana-san!" The cheerful greeting came from behind, revealing little Ginkaze Kimi, her two teammates trailing behind. "You made it too! Congratulations."

"Hmph. You guys passed?" The first words Fuyuno Koori spoke to us were as laced with ice as the rest of him.

Katana stepped forward in what could only be seen as a protective gesture, placing herself between the boy and Garuki and me. "Of course we passed," she growled. "They're with me. This exam is no more of a surprise for us than it is for you."

The two stared each other down, and Kimi shrugged. "I don't know. I thought it was really clever how they changed the exam around like that. There must be a lot of people here this year who have taken the exam before."

"Some rookies passed too, though," I added.

Garuki looked uneasily at Katana and Koori, still locked in a stare down. "Are they okay?" he leaned in to ask me.

"I think so," I said. "I get the feeling there's something we don't know."

Kimi nodded soberly. "Koori-san is a really good ninja, but he can be kind of serious sometimes."

"I think that's putting it a little lightly, don't you?"

"It's been awhile since we've been in a Chuunin Exam," she explained. "He's uptight, because of Tarou-kun."

Both Katana and Koori looked over at that. Even Nodin, their third team member who had been standing quietly on the sidelines, expressed mild interest.

"Oops," Kimi said, noting Koori's sour expression. "Sorry."

Garuki and I stared in confusion at the scene, but before anything further could be explained, the Jounin in charge of the next exam arrived. The Jounin wore the green Konoha flak jacket, had spiked silver hair, and most of his face was masked. He was reading…

"Is that a dirty book?" Garuki gaped.

Katana gave a snort and grinned. "I like him."

The Jounin stuck his book reluctantly in a pocket, and despite his mask covering all but one eye, I could tell he was smiling. "Welcome to the Forest of Death, everyone. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I will be your examiner for the Second Exam, a survival test. Surprisingly, twenty teams passed the last exam. Congratulations."

We all listened carefully as he explained. Aside from the name of the examiner, nothing had changed since Katana last took the exam, so both my team and Kimi's knew exactly what to expect. Five days in the forest; each team is given either the Heaven or Earth scroll; to win, you must reach the building at the forest center, with all three teammates and both scrolls, before the time limit is up. Opening the scrolls before the end of the exam was not allowed.

"Piece of cake," Katana said.

"Of course, from here on people will die," Kakashi-san threw out lightly, "so you'll have to sign a waiver. You have one hour to gather your supplies and return your waivers in that tent to my left, where you will be given one of the scrolls. No other teams will know which you receive. Now, I'd like to get back to my reading, so please be on your way." He pulled out his book and turned the page as he walked into the tent.

There was no question that we would continue, of course; it was just the test we had planned for. And since we had prepared our packs beforehand and left them with Sutiibu-sensei, it only took us fifteen minutes to locate the hotel, pick up our packs, and return to the gated area's outer limits. We signed the waivers and waited in line to receive our scrolls.

Inside the tent, Kakashi-san was still reading his book. A Chuunin took our forms and handed us a scroll: it was the scroll of Heaven.

"Be sure not to look inside that until you reach the center building," Kakashi-san said without looking up from his book. A map of the Forest of Death was in front of him. It was a large circle, probably six miles in diameter, with gates evenly spaced around the edge. He pointed at one of the gates, still not looking away from his reading. "Your team will be entering through gate 19. Please proceed there. The loudspeaker will inform you when you can enter and a Chuunin will open the gate for you. Good luck."

We moved quickly through the forest, on an arrow-straight path to the center building. I was confused by that tactic at first; assuming all teams did the same, no teams would ever run into each other. But Katana's past experience served us well; she understood typical behavioral patterns.

"Everyone has to go to the center building once they have their scrolls," she explained as we sped through the pine branches, avoiding the occasional freakishly large snake. "So if we move straight in and wait about halfway, we can catch teams off guard as they move to the end. Also, by then they should have both scrolls, so we won't have to worry about whether the team we fight will have the proper scroll for us."

"No wasted fights," I conceded. It was a good plan. "But why stop and wait halfway? Shouldn't we get as close as possible so we have a greater chance of running into more teams?"

"Yeah," she said, "but we won't be the only team thinking this way. Besides, the sooner we stop and set up a trap, the sooner we get a scroll. And we don't want to delay, in case the first or even second teams we meet are too strong to defeat in battle."

"What you said about other teams with the same plan?" Garuki's voice carried warning. "I think we're about to run into one of them. Straight ahead." He landed abruptly on the next available branch, and we landed beside him. "It's a trap, all right. My butterfly only saw one of them first, but they're all there, hiding. They keep moving; it'll be difficult to locate them once we're up close."

"How'd they get there before us?" Katana wondered.

I had more important things on my mind. "Any clues as to what type of trap it is? What type of attack they're planning?"

Garuki shook his head. All of us had lowered our voices. "Nope. Looks like…Grass country ninjas. Two guys and a girl. One's carrying a katana in a sheath."

"No problem," Katana said, noting her specialty, and she took a step in the group's direction.

"Wait!" I said. "I think I know what they're planning." The ninja whose spying I first foiled, in the first exam, had been a Grass nin. A Grass nin with a very distinct ability. I explained my plan, and once my teammates agreed to it, we were off.

Garuki and I approached alone, by foot, making as if we were searching for berries and completely off guard. Sure enough, as we entered a small clearing, two blow-darts came at us from the treetops.

Two of Katana's needles met them in mid air, and all four weapons clattered to the ground, harmless.

"Follow it," I said to Garuki, and he nodded, summoning a small swarm of butterflies and dispersing them in every direction. It was a good distraction for our enemies; however, he was only focusing a chakra line on one of them.

The blow-darts came again, again met by Katana's needles. But as a show of conflicting ability, Katana's needles came from a different location, while the darts came from the same direction as before. Garuki's lone butterfly sped off in that direction.

"Very well," a male voice came from somewhere around us. "We'll do it the hard way, then. Nami-san?"

Unable to pinpoint the location of the other two ninjas, Garuki and I leapt into a back-to-back fighting position, scanning the surrounding bushes, kunai ready.

"Water element, spring of life jutsu," came an indistinct female voice.

"She's close," I warned Garuki, but she didn't attack. Instead, she added a second incantation to the first.

"Wood element, ivy chain jutsu."

I hadn't even noticed the ground below us dampening, until the green leaves shot out of it, growing at a spectacular rate. Before Garuki or I could even think of moving, the vines had completely entwined our legs, and we were literally rooted in place.

"This wasn't part of the plan," I whispered, agitated.

"It's okay. I've pinpointed the dart guy," Garuki said. Katana stepped out from her hiding spot behind us, right on cue; Garuki pointed, and in a millisecond Katana had sent several kunai in the proper direction. "Got him," Garuki confirmed.

Before we could free ourselves and go after the ninja who invariably would be carrying the scroll, the invisible male voice from before materialized in front of us, grinning behind his Grass forehead-protector bandana and wielding a long crystal blade. The light through the treetops glinted off of both his teeth and his sword as he lifted it vertically in front of his face.

"Mushin," he said. His eyes glossed over a bit, and he took a slow step towards us.

_Mushin?_ I just enough time to wonder why the ninja was employing samurai philosophy at a time like this before I heard Katana snap, "Cut the plant with your kunai, idiots!" The odd samurai ninja's face turned toward Katana, and Garuki and I took the opportunity to bend to our feet, reaching with our knifes.

_Hiss._ The ninja's blade swept the weapons from our hands faster than I could follow it with my eyes. By the time I looked up, he was back in the same, upright resting position.

"I'll get him," Katana growled. "Just get the heck out of there."

The ninja's blade twisted ninety degrees in his hand. "_Zanshin,"_ he said. The glossy-eyed look was gone, but somehow, the gleam in them now appeared more dangerous. He seemed to have regained consciousness, too.

Katana bit her thumb and ran a bloody streak across a tattoo on the back of her left hand. Two hand signs and a summon spell later, she held her favorite weapons in her hands: two kama.

The ninja looked at Garuki and I, smiled, and said, "Die." We didn't even have time to duck as he stepped toward us, but when blinked and opened my eyes, Katana was crouched before us, two kama above her head blocking the samurai blade.

"I'm your opponent," Katana growled, but half a second later her eyes were wide and her arms shaking. The ninja's blade was, slowly but persistently, slicing straight downward through the kama. She shoved the blade back, and its owner with it, and the two stood before us. Katana was panting.

"Surprised?" the ninja asked. "Thought your weapons were the best, didn't you? Well I admit you're fast, but let me tell you a secret: nothing is harder than diamond."

Katana's eyes darted from the sword and back to the boy's face.

"That's right. My clan has the ability to control the density of rock. This sword is pure diamond. My name is Oiwa Kentaro, ninja, and my blade cannot be defeated by yours."

Katana rushed him, and they clashed. As long as her weapons didn't touch his for long, they weren't greatly damaged; however, each time she encroached on him, his blade nicked away at hers. They wouldn't last.

"This is bad," Garuki whispered beside me. "My kunai won't cut this stuff!" He'd been working away at the vines holding him in place. "Your plan was good, Hotaru, but we weren't counting on two of us being useless. My butterfly found the girl who set this ninjutsu on us, and she's close, but as long as we're here we can't disable her."

I thought hard as the battle continued in front of us. "So what aside from a blade will destroy this vine?"

"My wolf summon maybe? No. Fire?" Garuki asked.

_Oh no. Anything but fire._ _He doesn't know what he's asking._

"Don't you have some fire attack, Hotaru-san? I know you don't use it much, but…"

"No! I'll just get us both hurt."

"I don't think we have much of a choice."

But just then, something miraculous happened; the vines pulling my legs loosened just a touch.

"Garuki! The girl's low on chakra! We just need to delay this long enough and we'll get out on our own." I relaxed, getting out of using my flames once more.

"But how?"

Thinking back to training, I smiled. "Nee-san! Boomerang!"

I saw her grin, just slightly, and she summoned a weapon once again. This time, it was a blade-edged weapon the shape of a boomerang. She backed up three paces and threw it before the ninja realized what was happening.

It missed.

The ninja laughed. "You can't fool me. I know what stupid boomerang is!" He turned, just in time, and sliced the weapon clean through before its returning attack, headed straight for his neck, could reach him.

Katana reached to her belt, pulled a loop of wire, and seized the opportunity. While Oiwa Kentaro was turned away from her, she threw the kunai on the end of the wire and pulled.

Kentaro-san was tied like a pencil to the nearest tree before he could blink. Arms at his sides and face to the tree bark, he could do nothing to untie himself.

"Maybe my blades are no match for yours, Oiwa-san," Katana snickered, "but your single weapon is no match for the weapons master of Hidden Snow." She knocked him out with a single blow to the head, just in case.

"Nee-san," Garuki said, " the third ninja is in those bushes over…"

"No need," I said, as the vines around our calves slipped to our ankles. "That ninja won't even put up a fight. Trust me, I know chakra deprivation when I see it." With some coaxing, our feet were freed. Following the direction of Garuki's original butterfly, we found the blond dart gun ninja about thirty yards away, on the ground below a high tree.

"He's a good shot," Katana admitted as she bent down, searched the ninja's packs and pulled out the scroll.

"Think he's dead?" Garuki asked as we took off at a casual run, all a bit exhausted from battle.

"Naw," I said. "He was breathing, and it didn't even look like the fall broke any bones. He's lucky."

"We're the lucky ones," Katana put in. "You guys didn't even ask. The scroll we just got; it's an Earth scroll. Only two hours into the test, and we can make our way to the finish line already."


	4. Altered Senseability

Chapter 4 – Altered Sense-ability

We took the time to find a good camp early that evening, near a forest stream in by some short rock outcroppings which would be invaluable for defense. We had spent the entire afternoon and evening moving towards the center building, and Katana estimated that we were already about halfway there. Once we found a defensible camp position, there was no need to push further. Garuki and I went fishing (with the aid of a small wolf pack) while Katana played lookout and attempted to fix the weapons damaged in the fight with the Grass ninjas. It was still light, but the painted sky indicated that it wouldn't last long. I carried a few fish over to the campfire where she sat, inspecting the cutting edge of one of her kama.

"How do they look?" I asked, genuinely concerned. Her weapons were our best defense.

"Not good," she sighed, with the appearance of a parent whose child is seriously ill. "The boomerang's totaled…and that one was my own invention, too." She twisted the kama, twinges of sunset red reflecting back from it. "These I can salvage, thank the gods. The kama both just need a good sharpening." Removing a tool from her pack, she set to work.

I sat beside her and watched; I would have offered to help, but weapons were her area of expertise; I would only have gotten in the way.

Garuki and set the remaining fish out to dry on some rocks by the river, and was now on top of one of the small cliffs, surveying the forest around us in the remaining light. "Check it out," he called down. "I can see the tower! It doesn't look that far away from here."

"Of course not," Katana said. "But the bird's eye view isn't accurate; you should know that, after all the weaving around other teams and landscapes we had to do today."

"True," Garuki agreed, then, "Hold on. Guys? There's a fight going on, not far from here."

"Could you possibly be any less specific?" Katana snapped.

"I can't see much."

"What about your butterflies then?"

He shook his head. "I can't. I've got to conserve my chakra. I've had summons out all day long! Even I have a limit."

"Well, it's not our problem," I said. "We've already got both scrolls."

Katana nodded and turned her focus back to sharpening her tools.

Garuki watched for a moment before speaking again. "Well, it's about to become our problem. They're moving this way!"

Katana sighed and un-summoned the weapons, standing up stiffly and stretching. "You're sure you can't just send a scout?"

"I'm sorry," Garuki began.

"Don't be," I said, standing along with Katana. "And don't be so hard on him, nee-san! If not for his techniques we'd be dead already. We'll need them tomorrow."

"Sorry," she said, crossing her arms and turning her head away from me. She didn't sound the part. "I'm just tired."

"It's okay," Garuki waved it off with one hand, eyes still on the forest just past him. "They're coming this way fast, we should really get hidden. Looks like one team is being chased by another."

We buried our gear as quickly as possible, put out the fire and hid in the bushes. Soon the first team arrived; Konoha ninjas, all young men about Katana's age. Just as they reached the cliffs where we had been moments before, all three stopped in their tracks, peering around them in all directions as if blinded. Two male ninja stepped out from the direction in which Garuki had seen the fight break out. They were Sand ninja; the young ones Katana had pointed out at the beginning of the exam.

"Genjutsu," I murmured, and the others nodded. We were safe; whoever directed the attack had excellent control, and was probably attempting not to hit the their third comrade with the technique. But that meant…

"One of them was already on the other side of camp!" I was lucky; the two ninja not trapped in the genjutsu didn't hear my exclamation. Katana armed herself immediately with a kunai from her holster; Garuki and I did the same.

_Whoever the third Sand nin is, he or she was fast enough to pass us, quiet enough not to get caught – and possibly even saw our camp._

The question was answered seconds later as the third Sand ninja, a young black-haired girl with slit eyes and a red sash around her waist, stepped out of apparently no where, across the camp area from her teammates.

It was obvious who was in charge. "Keep that up, Yousuke, and they'll die of thirst in that mock desert of yours before I even have a chance at them. Help Manzo trap them to the rock and let go of that ludicrous genjutsu."

"Hai, Sumi-san," both boys said at once.

In a ridiculous show of strength, the larger boy known as Manzo walked up to the trapped Konoha ninjas and lifted all three of them at once, hoisting them up and slamming them brutally against the bottom of the rock cliff. Yousuke, a smaller boy who looked as if he could be the girl's twin, released the genjutsu. The three Konoha nins had just enough time to stare wide-eyed at their captors and begin to beg for mercy before Yousuke formed several more seals and called out, "Quicksand no jutsu."

The rock to the back of the ninjas melted, sprouted into cuffs around their wrists and ankles, and at the young boy's command hardened instantly, trapping the three victims.

The two boys stood back, and the girl stepped forward. She grinned eerily at the Konoha nin's terrified expressions. "Too frightened to speak? No surprise. But don't worry; this happens enough that I've got the pattern down. First, you say, 'Please, let us out, don't kill us!' Then I say…"

She pulled out three needles. "…too late. We asked for your scroll and you declined to give it. For your insolence we will be forced to eliminate you immediately."

The Konoha ninja were all shaking, but had given up trying to remove themselves from their rocky bonds. Beside me, Garuki made as if to run, wide-eyed, but Katana placed a hand on his knee and shook her head.

_Better not to move and risk getting caught._

Sumi smiled at her six-inch-long needles. "We in Sand use needles a little bit differently than the Rain ninja. None of this 'raining down from the heavens' crap. Quality over quantity, people say…I only need three needles to kill you. One to halt the breath - "

She sent one needle directly through the throat of the ninja on the left.

"One to halt the heart…"

The ninja on the right was taken down in a single shot too. Both now sagged in their bonds, and Yousuke released his jutsu's hold on them, allowing them to drop to the ground.

"And for you…."

She sent the third needle at the ninja in the middle, the apparent leader of the group, and it went straight through the center of his chest.

She smiled at him. "I've decided not to kill you right away. But that went straight through your spinal column; you won't be moving any more. Now, make this easier on us and tell us where your scroll is?"

"It's…in…in Kai's bag! The one on my right! Please, it's all yours!" He was crying and looked ready to be sick, and his arms and legs now hung limp.

Yousuke walked calmly up to the described bag, took out a Heaven scroll, and gestured with it to Sumi before slipping it into a mail-bag at his side.

"Heaven, hmm?" she mused, striding towards the remaining terrified Konoha ninja. "Too bad…we already had three of those; only one of the Earths. Well, I suppose a fourth won't hurt. Oh…" she said, focusing brilliant blue chakra in her right hand, looking like a blade extending from her fingers. "One more thing."

"That's…medical ninjutsu?" Katana said quietly. She was right; I'd seen it used once before. A chakra scalpel, used to make cuts internally without external damage. "Is she going to heal him?"

The girl suddenly swung her fingers in front of the boy's throat, and without a single sign of damage, the boy slumped forward in death. "If you thought I was going to spare you for telling me that, you were wrong."

The Sand nin Yousuke released the last of his jutsu, letting the last ninja slip through the rock cliff's solid grip. A bruise was forming under the skin of his neck. As they walked past us, Sumi turned.

"Stop."

She was staring straight in our direction.

"We should take theirs, too."

Her teammates nodded.

"Well," she directed at us. "You saw the display. Get out of there. Hiding won't do any good."

Garuki shuddered, and Katana stared wide-eyed through the bushes to her front. Sweat was dripping down her face. I had seen her frightened only once before, a time when Sutiibu had seen fit to punish her; it was not a Katana that I enjoyed seeing, however much her normal arrogance annoyed me.

"Nee-san…"

"Forget it, Hotaru. We can't fight them." She closed her eyes to concentrate, then looked at me. "Follow my lead, fast, and carefully! "

I expected her to lead us away as quickly as possible, but instead, she calmed her face, then put on a look of absolute terror and helplessness, and threw herself forward out of the bushes, landing on her knees and bowing to the ninjas before her.

"Please, don't kill us! We will gladly hand over anything you want!"

Garuki and I, amazed, followed in suit, zipping out of the bushes and bowing prostrate in front of our captors.

Katana, from her bowed position, looked back at me with anger. "I can't believe you thought we could beat these people, Hotaru-san! You already almost lost the Earth scroll once and now you had to lead us over here. What were you thinking? They are clearly superior."

_What?_ It took me a moment to clear my dazed thoughts before I realized she was acting. But what was my role supposed to be? Clearly she had implicated me as the supposed leader for a reason. And why say Earth scroll, when we had both?

_Got it! She's playing to their arrogance – they'll think we aren't worth fighting, and if they think we've only got one scroll, we won't loose both at once! _ If she'd just come out and said we only had one, we would have been suspect. But if we seemed so unskilled that we couldn't handle ourselves in battle, they wouldn't guess we had two scrolls so early in the game.

"Hey, look, it's not my fault you wanted to hide our only scroll in Garuki's pack," I said, remembering who in our group was carrying the Earth scroll. "You know that pack comes loose all the time!"

"Silence!" Sumi yelled, although she looked amused. She turned to her companions. "So, Yousuke, Manzo, what do you think? The blonde one seems grateful enough that we didn't kill her straight out, but the other one's noisy…"

"Take scroll, leave," Manzo said.

"With all due respect, Sumi-san, I agree with Manzo. They're so incompetent that they nearly lost their own scroll and have no respect among their ranks. Even if they're lucky enough to get to the next round, they clearly won't give us any problems. I say we take the scroll and go – I'm running low on chakra anyway, and it's nearly dark."

Sumi sighed, and nodded. "Fine, fine. Now, boy, hand us that scroll and we'll be on our way. We'll even leave you your pathetic little campsite; I've seen better."

Garuki reached into his pocket, and without leaving his bowed position, held the scroll up in the air.

"Later, kids." Sumi took the scroll, and the Sand nins had disappeared in seconds.

After waiting an extra several minutes to be safe, the three of us dared to move. Garuki, still in apparent shock, simply sat where he had been bowing, staring straight forward. I stood, but wasn't sure what to do. Katana pulled the poor Konoha ninja across to the bank of the river, one by one, and let them float downstream.

"They'll reach the fence by the end of the night; the Chuunin watching the gates will take care of the bodies." She sounded tired, like all the energy she had cultivated by winning our first match, all the energy I'd ever seen in her, had been sapped out at once.

"That…doesn't happen very often, despite their warnings about death…does it, nee-san?"

She shook her head. "No. The only other death I've seen in an Exam…was Tarou-san's."

Garuki looked over at her, still visibly white in the face despite the growing dark. I moved and sat by him, placed an arm around him in comfort, as he asked, "Tarou-san…you mean you saw Koori-san's teammate die, in the last exam?"

"Yes," she replied. "I did."

When she didn't say any more, we dropped the subject. "Well, it could have gone worse, right?" I pointed out. "That was some really smart acting, nee-san. I wouldn't have thought to appeal to their arrogance that way, but it worked."

Katana smiled then as she lit the fire, the largest smile one could expect given the circumstances. It was slight, but there. "I owe a lot to you. You caught on quickly. If you hadn't…" She shook her head. "Anyway, you're right. We still have our Heaven scroll. And thank goodness that scroll, too."

"What do you mean?" Garuki asked. His shaking had calmed a bit.

"Sumi said the Sand team has four Heaven scrolls now," I explained, following Katana's logic. "That's a lot already; three other teams won't be able to gain a full set of scrolls. If they'd had ours too, that would have cut the possible number of passing teams to six, in the best circumstances."

"As it is," Katana followed, "unless anyone can beat those Sand guys, a maximum of seven teams can pass, instead of ten. But since they took our Earth scroll, they only have two of those. That means there are at least two partner-less Earth scrolls out there – it will be much easier for us to replace."

"Easier…" Garuki faded off, face dark even though it glowed with firelight. "But there will be more teams like them, won't there, nee-san?"

She looked at me.

"Yeah, Garuki-kun, it's possible," I said. "But like nee-san said, stuff like that doesn't happen often. And we've already beat one team, and outsmarted another – even if we lost out in the process. Please don't give up on us – we aren't dead yet!"

Katana gave an approving nod; she knew that I knew Garuki better than her, and trusted me to manage his fears better. And, I wasn't sure how, but somehow my pep talk had managed to raise my spirit as well. As Katana set to work on her blades again, I couldn't help but wondering at her intelligence. She may have called me the smart one, but it seemed to me that she was the one, out of all of us, acting most like a Chuunin.

Two days later, not a single other team had come near our location. It was a bad sign; with three days passed, it seemed likely that most of the stellar teams had already passed and were waiting in the center building. It was possible, even, that there were no more Earth scrolls remaining; the seven with Heaven Scroll counterparts could all be taken, and the two remaining could very well be destroyed – or, like the Sand nins, other ninja teams could have "collected" many scrolls, preventing other teams from obtaining them. Yes, there was a chance that no matter how much we tried, no more Earth scrolls remained, and we had already lost.

But we wouldn't have been Sutiibu's students if we had just given up.

In any case, as we woke on the morning of the fourth test day, Katana decided that our "halfway" position was no longer a strategic one.

"Everyone will be moving toward the center now, whether they have both scrolls or not," she explained to Garuki and me as we gathered our few belongings into packs in preparation for leaving. The campsite had served us well, but it was too far away from the center building. "If groups don't start moving in, they won't be able to arrive in time, even if they're lucky enough to find a second scroll on the way. The same goes for us – we need to start moving."

"If what you said is right, there should be people lying in wait close to the building anyway," Garuki said.

"Exactly. Now, we need your scouts today, Garuki-kun, so once you've summoned we can be on our way."

"No need." Garuki grinned. "I can summon as we move. Let's go."

We launched into the trees and sped towards the odd round tower just as the sun poked over the forest edge behind us. We still had encountered no one by late afternoon, and despite our car-chasing training with Sutiibu-sensei, we were tiring after so much running; the center building never seemed to be any closer. Katana, in the lead, gave us and hand signal and came to a rest on the forest floor, Garuki and I close behind.

"What's up?" Garuki asked. "My butterflies still haven't seen anyone, did I miss something?"

"No," Katana said. "Unfortunately. I figured we should stop and have some lunch while we're still in the clear. Much further and we're likely to run into enemies; we'll have to slow down and move stealthily."

"It shouldn't be a problem with my butterflies scouting…" Garuki protested, but he and I both trusted our older companion, and he fell silent. While Katana unloaded some dried fish and bread from her pack to make sandwiches, Garuki wandered over to a peer at a particularly beautiful rose bush.

"I haven't seen any flowers like this around here so far," he said, and leaned in to smell one. "It's kinda cool…hey, Hotaru?"

"Yeah?" I walked over to take a closer look.

"Does this rose bush smell weird to you at all?"

I leaned in sniffed. "Smells like roses to me, Garuki-kun…why?"

He shrugged and leaned in again. "I dunno, it just smelled kind of empty to me…that's strange," he added. "It smells normal now."

I gave him a questioning look and returned to Katana's side. She stood and handed me a sandwich, and then passed one to Garuki as well. He was still making an odd face, and took the sandwich without looking at it.

"Guys? Do your feet feel…damp?"

My first reaction was that he must be going crazy, but then I felt it too…the sensation of water rising slowly up my legs. I could tell from Katana's shocked expression that she felt it also. Looking down, there was nothing…but we definitely all felt it there. Katana grabbed a double-sided kunai from her belt and tried to spin outward to face the woods, but her feet didn't move and she fell off-balance onto one hand. Garuki reached to help her up, but her hand wouldn't rise off of the ground either.

"Genjutsu!" I cried, quickly following that with the hand seal and "Kai!" command to release its hold on us. Most of our forest surroundings remained the same; the rose bush disappeared, and a few trees changed position, but the most striking difference was the ground below us. It had looked like grass when we arrived, but now it was a murky, thick mud puddle, holding our feet and Katana's left hand like quicksand.

Three Hidden Rain ninja stood off to my left, behind Katana, watching us. Two boys were engaged in hand signs; the smaller one, crouching on the ground with loose green hair poking out under a head-wrap, let his hand seal go with a sigh.

"Darn, they found me out."

"You forgot to govern their sense of _touch_, baka?" the taller boy sneered. He stood tall, thin, with black hair hanging into his face and a classical Rain ninja farmer's hat on. He blew it out with a quick puff, never changing his hand position or taking his eye off of us.

_He must be the one holding us in this puddle,_ I realized.

"Oh, and it's my fault that I forgot to completely hypnotize all of their senses while simultaneously altering the smell of a rose I didn't expect anyone to even notice?" the crouching boy shot back.

"Um, yes, it is your fault, Kenjiro," said the purple-haired girl, the last in their squad. She wore a plain grey dress, with a pair of umbrellas strapped to her back. "That's kind of the point."

"They talk too much," Katana growled, but she wasn't exactly in a position to complain. All three looked up at her comment.

The girl sighed. "She's right. So they found us out – plan B, Keiji-san?"

The older boy spoke. "Okay. Which scrolls do you have?"

"What?" all three of us said at once.

"I said, what scroll do you have? We don't want any unnecessary fights; we need to save our energy to get back to the end."

I looked at Katana, but she answered for me. "We have one Heaven scroll. That's all."

"Oh?" Keiji-san's interest peaked. "Well then. We propose a trade."

"You put me in this stupid trap just to ask for a truce?" Katana demanded. "When I get out of here…"

"Hold on, nee-san," I said. "Let's listen."

"We have two Earth scrolls," Keiji continued. "I propose that we trade one of our Earth scrolls for your Heaven scroll. We'll pass on to the next round, and you'll leave here safe and still with one scroll. What do you say?"

Katana turned to me. "No way. Heaven scrolls are in demand. One Earth scroll alone won't help us!"

"Do we have a choice?" Garuki reminded her.

"It doesn't matter. We can't give in," she said so that only we could hear her. "These guys won't kill us, I can tell. We're better off trying!"

"They're taking too long," said Keiji. "Hisa-chan, go!"

"Yessir!"

The purple haired girl lifted an umbrella from her back and opened it.

"Rain nin…dammit, I could take care of her easy if I had both my hands!" Katana growled.

"This looks bad…" Garuki cringed.

"Needle Storm no Jutsu!" Hisa cried, and a storm of needles truly did materialize in the sky above us. They would pincushion us in under a second…

Matching needles suddenly crossed lengthwise across the sky, knocking every one of the other needles out of the air. Three ninjas landed between us, in our mud puddle, and our foe.

"Sorry we're late," came the sing-song voice of little Ginkaze Kimi, who was standing in the center with her back to us. "Kwahu-kun found you ages ago, of course, but it took me awhile to convince Koori-san we should help out our fellow Snow Genin. Ne, Koori-san?"

Fuyuno Koori grunted in response, and I wondered how Kimi had ever managed to convince him to do anything, let alone come to our rescue when he clearly had a distaste for our company.

Nodin made a hand signal and whispered something, and the trees behind the Rain ninjas came to life and grabbed hold of them. They looked shocked for a moment; then, suddenly, all three disappeared, sticks in their place.

"Replacement jutsu," Garuki stated disappointedly.

"We're not done yet!" came Keiji's voice from somewhere in the trees. But the distraction had caused him to lose his concentration, and the suction-like mud hole below us disappeared. Katana vaulted to her feet, looking mildly perturbed at being found by Koori's team in such an uncouth position, but gazing toward Koori for direction nonetheless.

"They shouldn't be able to hurt us from so far out, but it won't be easy to reach them either," he said.

"So…we bring them to us," I said. "Or just knock them out from here. Nee-chan, can you flush them out with kunai?"

"Oh, me too, me too!" Kimi volunteered.

But before we could do anything, a roaring sound came from the forest to my right, and treetops could be seen collapsing below…

"A wave?" Garuki cried.

"Garuki, Hotaru….and you," Katana gestured hurriedly toward Nodin. "Get behind us!"

Wondering what on earth they could be planning to stop the oncoming tsunami, the three of us jumped into defensive stance behind our teammates.

Koori was the first to make a move. Forming several seals, ending with the tiger seal at his lips, he called, "Ninpou: Fuyuno Ice Breath!" Breathing in deeply, he then let out a huge breath of frozen steam. Seconds before the wave reached us, the cold front reached it, and it froze solid, clean through, looming sculpture of a wave in front of us.

Katana, meanwhile, had bitten her thumb and run the blood across the summon tattoo on the back of her left hand, summoning two giant black shuriken, one in each hand. "Kimi, you know Reverse Needle Storm, right?"

"Of course!" the small girl said cheerily.

"Good!" She stood tall, arms across her chest, facing the wave. "Dance of the Seven Veils – Single-Target Version!" She threw the shuriken hard to each side, and they looped around, crossing in the center of the target, destroying the frozen wave and sending shards of ice to the ground. The summoned shuriken disappeared, Koori and Katana ducked to the ground, and the three of us standing behind them followed suit in confusion. But it didn't take long to see why that was necessary; Kimi gathered two fistfuls of ice chards, held them to her chest and focused her gaze inward, then shouted, "Reverse Ice Needle Storm No Jutsu!"

She spun, releasing the shards out, waist-high and above, up and out in every direction. The numbers must have multiplied ten or twenty times in the air; ice shards filled the sky. When her spin came to a halt, right foot dragging on the ground to slow her, "Truce!" came from the trees and the three Rain ninjas appeared in low bows before us.

All of them were bleeding badly, but intact.

Keiji-san spoke. "We give up. Please spare our lives! We can't come close to your level, outnumbered like this…Please accept our apologies!"

Koori-san, Kimi, and Nodin huddled together, and Kimi turned to us. "We already have both of the scrolls we need, so we'll let you guys decide how to deal with them," she said. The three Snow nins stood to the side, watching to see our decision.

"We should let them go," Garuki said.

"Come on, we at least need to take their scrolls from them first," Katana said. "We need that Heaven scroll!"

"Okay," I said. "So we ask for their scrolls, and let them go, with the promise of a truce."

We turned to them and relayed the request. The girl, Hisa, nodded, and reached into her pouch to retrieve the scrolls.

But instead of a pair of Heaven scrolls, her hand held a pair of kunai. Desperate look on her bloody face, she tossed them in our direction. The two male Rain ninjas saw and charged.

I landed a side-kick squarely on the smaller Kenjiro as he approached, sending him flying. Katana and Kimi both tossed shuriken to deflect the kunai. Keiji ran at Garuki, but in half a second, Garuki's wolf had appeared from seemingly nowhere and had his jaws around young Hisa's neck.

"Stop," said Garuki to Keiji, a frighteningly serious look in his eyes, "or your teammate dies."

Keiji stopped and looked back wide-eyed at the girl. She was shaking uncontrollably, and crying.

Motion everywhere came to a halt as all of us watched Garuki, the two Rain ninjas, and the snarling wolf. It was just one of Garuki's normal scout wolves, one I had seen before, chained to itself by the leg.

"I thought it might be good to have Kizuna standing by," Garuki mumbled. His eyes were still on the girl. I had never seen him so intense. This wasn't the Garuki-kun I had known since the first day of Academy. It was more than a little disconcerting.

"P…please," Hisa gasped. "I'm…so sorry. We lied; we don't have any scrolls at all! I had to try something…I had to….I'm sorry…"

Keiji had his hands in the air, unarmed. "She's right. Please, let her go. We need to tend to our comrade; we can't give you any more trouble. Please don't kill our Hisa!"

"Forget it," Katana growled. "I'm not much of one in the favor of unnecessary deaths…" Koori snorted, and Katana glared at him before continuing, "but you guys have proven you can't be trusted."

Garuki's solid glare had softened a little now, as he comprehended what nee-san would ask of him, and he was once again the familiar, indecisive friend of old. He wiped sweat from his brow, glancing at me nervously.

"Wait," I said. "Garuki's summon can last here awhile. We'll leave, but that wolf stays on her neck until we're plenty far away. And Garuki can see through his summons' eyes," I directed at the Rain nins, "so don't you even think of coming after us."

"Why let them live?" demanded Katana.

"Because they're weak," I said. Walking closer to her, I added quietly, "We want weak ninjas in the finals, so they'll be easy to beat. Besides, we have information about them, which gives us an advantage. If we let them go, it'll be good for us in the future!"

"Only if they make it to the finals!" she said loudly.

Koori looked over, first at Katana, then piercingly into my eyes. He nodded almost imperceptibly, although it wasn't exactly a friendly nod, and reached into his pouch.

Out came a Heaven scroll.

"We were saving this for an emergency, but we'll give it to you guys," he said, and handed it to the still shaking Hisa. He turned to us, then. "All right. Let's go."

We traveled with Koori's team, and at nightfall made camp together. Katana was still steaming that we let the Rain ninjas go, and more, that Koori had given them the spare scroll instead of us. We sat around a low campfire together, stars spread out above us; pooling our resources had certainly created one of the best meals we'd had in days, and Nodin had carried some special natural spices with him that definitely added much needed flavor. It would have been a great gathering, if not for the tension thick in the air between Katana and Koori.

"It was a Heaven scroll," he said mildly, taking a bite of fish sandwich with cranberry sauce. "You didn't need a Heaven scroll."

"But like they said, scrolls are still good for trading! We could have used it! And besides, just the principle of the thing, helping an enemy village instead of your own village mates…"

"That scroll will give them a leg up towards making it to the finals. They are weak, as your teammate said," he nodded towards me, "and would make good opponents in the finals. She was wise to leave them, and I was wise to help them."

"We are the ones needing a leg up into the finals, you idiot! Don't you remember? The finals represent war between villages! The more Snow ninjas in the finals, the better off our village is! Don't you have any sense of duty? Or, wait….did you not know that, since you didn't make it into the finals last time?" she sneered.

Koori jumped to his feet, dagger in hand. "You're sure one to talk about village loyalty, Takeyoshi!"

Kimi laid a hand gently on his arm, and he allowed it to guide him back to a sitting position. She looked apologetically toward Katana, and said, "What he means is, wouldn't an Earth scroll be more helpful to you than a Heaven scroll?"

"Well, yes," Katana glowered, "but like I said, we could have traded…"

"Then, here." Kimi pulled an Earth scroll from her pocket. "The plan was to give you our other spare the whole time. Right, Koori-san?" She smiled at him; he crossed his arms and sighed, staring into the fire, responding only with a small, "Right."

I had to wonder what power she had over him, that he would give in so easily, but Katana just took the Earth scroll with a thank you directed specifically at Kimi, slipped it into her belt pouch, and went to sit alone on the outer rim of camp.

Garuki and Cheveyo Nodin were engaged in quiet conversation, something about wolves and trees, and Koori didn't seem to be in the mood for talking, so I too found a spot on the edge of camp, climbed a tree, and lay at the top looking at the stars.

Ginkaze Kimi was on the branch next to mine before I had a chance to blink. "Don't mind if I join, do you?"

"Not at all," I said, meaning it, although I sure wished she would stop sneaking up on me like that. It was unsettling.

"So, your team and mine both get to finals. Fun, huh?" she said.

"We aren't there yet." Nor did the finals sound particularly like fun to me.

"If we go by tree, we'll be there in a few hours from when we wake up tomorrow," she said. "I remember from last time; we were pretty close to the building, when…" she trailed off.

"Kimi-san, what happened last time? I mean, Koori-san and Katana-nee-san…"

"You can call me Kimi-chan," she said, grinning, and then gazed pensively at the stars above us. "Last time, Koori-san and I were just rookies, and Tarou-kun…we met up against a really hard group, one of the best there was, but even when Koori-san and I got injured Tarou-kun wouldn't give up. Like that Rain girl today, kinda; Tarou-kun got desperate, and tried to kill the opposing ninja in a really stupid move…"

She sighed. "I probably shouldn't disrespect the dead by calling him stupid like that, huh? Anyway, he tried to save us by killing the other guy, but the other guy was better and avoided the attack, then killed Tarou in one blow. It was…" She sounded less than cheerful for the first time since I'd met her. "…pretty gruesome."

"And…Katana?"

"Katana-san and her team were there. I think Koori-san resents her for not doing anything to stop it."

"Why didn't she?"

"Was there anything she could have done?" Kimi asked philosophically, and of course I had no answer.

"My nee-sama will be watching the finals tomorrow, you know," Kimi said, her usual chipper intonation creeping back into her voice. "I'm sure she won't be surprised to see you, although maybe she'll be surprised to see us." She giggled.

"Kimi-chan! Get down here, we need to rest up for tomorrow!" came Koori's order, resounding through the trees.

"Jeez, you'd think he'd be worried about other teams…"

"There aren't any other teams nearby," Kimi said as she disappeared down the tree. "In fact, there are only four other teams left. We've been keeping track. Ja ne!"


	5. Luck of the Draw

Chapter 5 – Luck of the Draw

The next morning, the fifth day of the exam, our two teams rose early before the sun was even visible in the sky, and made our way quickly toward the lighthouse-shaped building in the center of the Forest of Death. As a "team" of six, we weren't accosted; anyone left at that point was almost certainly weak, and wouldn't have risked taking on two teams at once. The genjutsu of the Rain ninjas the day before had kept us running in circles, getting no closer to our center target, causing us to lose quite a bit of time. It took us until almost noon to reach the building.

We paused to eat a quiet lunch before entering; there was a chance the next exam would take place the moment this one finished, in less than two hours judging by the sun, and there was no guarantee we'd be allowed to eat once inside. Kimi waved jovially and shouted a quick "good luck!" as our team and their separated, her two teammates following without a word. Katana, Garuki and I gathered our things. Ten doors were spaced around the building's base; after Kimi's team entered one, six remained with the kanji "Enter" painted on their front. As Garuki pushed it open, a jutsu was set off, and the kanji changed to "Closed." We walked into the room together, weapons ready, just in case of ambush.

"So…what do we do now?" I asked. The room was empty, except for an odd bit of writing on the wall; something about seeking knowledge and power.

"My guess is, we open those scrolls," Garuki said.

Katana nodded. "Last time, someone was waiting for us here. But that Jounin at the start of the exam, Hatake-san, said not to open them until we arrived here with both. We're here."

"And thanks to Koori-san, we have both scrolls," I felt the need to add.

Katana ignored me and pulled the Heaven scroll out of her pack. I retrieved the Earth scroll which I had been carrying. We opened the two at once, set the open scrolls quickly on the ground, and jumped back in surprise as the combined scrolls created a summoning spell.

Sutiibu-sensei stood smiling in front of us in a puff of smoke.

"Jeez," said Garuki.

"That's new," Katana added, and I suppressed a giggle at her comical expression.

"Welcome to the Tournament Building, guys." Sutiibu grinned, eyes sparkling as they always did when he was particularly pleased. "Congratulations; you've passed the second exam."

Garuki and I cheered, and even Katana smiled oddly, an expression I took to mean she didn't take our success thus far for granted.

"Of course I was confident you would make it, but you sure gave us a scare back there on day two," Sutiibu continued.

"You saw?" Garuki asked, crestfallen.

"Of course. We've been watching the whole time. But you'll hear more about that later.

"I'm supposed to tell you about the meaning of that writing on the wall now. Its purpose is to explain the symbols on the scrolls – 'heaven' representing mind, and 'earth' representing power. Chuunin must have both, and that writing reminds you to seek one if you are weak in that area. However," he looked each of us in the eye, "while each of you still has much growing ahead of you, I'd say you already understand the significance of Heaven and Earth."

"What do you mean by that?" Garuki asked.

"He means that he feels all of us are well-rounded ninja," I said, and sensei nodded in approval. "He means that long ago we recognized our strengths and sought to correct our weaknesses."

"And I feel you've done a good job of it," Sutiibu finished. "Here's what I saw. Katana, you worked well with your team. Instead of babying them, you took faith in their strengths and relied on them to augment yours. Garuki, your tracking skills were good as always, but you also showed insight above that of your teammates when trapped in the Rain genjutsu, and you were able to step up and be fierce in a time of need – when that Rain girl attacked. And Hotaru."

His smile and eyes softened as he looked at me, and I stood tall under his proud gaze. "Your quick thinking under pressure - where you always used to crack - time and time again, saved your teammates."

"Thank you, sensei," the three of us said at once.

"Now, I'm not really allowed to talk about the next exam, but I will say this: for the last exams you had to focus on your teamwork and all-around performance. For this next exam, I'd advise focusing on your unique strengths, and taking advantage of them."

He stepped aside, and a door appeared where it hadn't been on the wall behind him. "Go on ahead; they'll be starting soon. I'll meet up with you later." There was another small cloud of smoke, and he disappeared.

Garuki and I moved toward the door. Katana hesitated a moment, then followed behind.

"Hey, kids?" she said. We turned, and saw an unusually kind Takeyoshi Katana looking back at us. "He's right, you know. You aren't half bad."

I figured that was the best compliment we could get from her, and we smiled in acknowledgement, then passed through the doors together.

An hour later, the Genin teams who had passed the Forest of Death exam gathered in a small round arena, the heart of what Sutiibu called "the Tournament Building" at the center of the Forest. Four other teams had entered before us, and only minutes before the exam ended, a sixth team arrived; it was Keiji, Hisa, and Kenjiro, the Rain Genin. All in all, there were two Snow teams, and one team each from Grass, Rain, Konoha, and Sand.

A large gathering stood at the head of the room before us, made up of the Chuunin and Jounin examiners, the Jounin sensei (Sutiibu-sensei and Dai-san were standing together, and he winked at us as we stood in line), and as an added surprise, the leaders of each Hidden Village. It was quite the gathering. As Kimi had anticipated, Yukikage-sama stood at the head of the group in line with the other village leaders; she looked so very young compared to even the youngest of the others.

The Hokage, a blonde woman did look admittedly good for her age (which I had heard was about 50), stepped forward.

"My name is Tsunade, and I am the Hokage, the leader of Hidden Leaf. Welcome to Konoha, and congratulations on passing the first two exams. You are clearly the top Genin in your respective villages to have made it this far."

She surveyed the group momentarily. "This is highly interesting; yet again, we seem to have quite a few people reaching the final round. I must have a chat with my Jounin proctors as to the difficulty of the exam…"

Several groups, who had never been to an exam before, exchanged murmurs of disbelief at that proclamation.

"Oh, sure, you may think that six, the number of teams that passed, is a small number. But eighteen, the number of Genin that passed, is large indeed; too large for you all to go on to the finals, I'm afraid."

"Preliminary rounds," Katana growled. "I heard they'd been doing them lately…tch, that makes it so much more difficult."

Indeed, Tsunade-sama, much to the chagrin of the participants from all villages, went on to explain that a preliminary exam would be necessary. She then introduced our next proctor, a Chuunin I recognized from earlier, the pony-tailed boy who had allowed us into the village. He appeared younger than me.

"It's troublesome, but since these are just the preliminaries, Tsunade-sama asked me to be the proctor. My name is Nara Shikamaru," he said in a bored voice.

Before the parameters of the preliminary rounds were explained, he launched into the explanation of the Chuunin Exams I had heard so much about: the idea that these were held in place of war. For the Final Rounds, leaders and ninja from all villages, and feudal lords from all over the nations, would attend to see the strength of the Hidden Villages as reflected in us, their most promising Genin. It was a way of maintaining the balance of power between the nations.

"Of course, that means only the best Genin should participate. Your Jounin showed they approved of you by recommending you for the exam, and the Examiners will show their approval by rating your performance in the Finals. It's troublesome, but we feel your village Leaders should also have a say. So, for the preliminaries, you will randomly be selected to fight against one other Genin here, in front of the Kages and Village Leaders. You have to start immediately. How troublesome."

A large electronic board in the corner of the room lit up, revealing two names.

Tenten

Vs.

Morimoto Nami

"Two girls," Shikamaru muttered. "How troublesome. You two, please stay on the floor. The rest of you please take your places on the balconies; you get to watch."

Garuki, Katana and I hurried through a hallway and up the stairs. When we reached the balcony, the entire delegation from Snow Village seemed to have gathered in one place. Koori-san stood with his arms crossed leaning against the wall, and I felt certain he would have rather been elsewhere, if not for the fact that his Jounin instructor was practically glued to mine. Sutiibu-sensei, Dai-san, and Yukiko-sama stood at the balcony railing in deep conversation, Kimi and Nodin not far away. Kimi was keeping a respectful distance from her elder sibling, and first the first time I was forced to consider the weight of having such a genius as an older sister. If I remembered correctly, her older brother was particularly skilled as well.

I wasn't sure which was harder; living in the shadow of a failure as I had, expected to fail, or living in the shadow of such success being expected to repeat it.

I, too, moved up to the railing to peer over the edge at the two girls fated to fight first. Morimoto Nami, though I had never seen her face before, I recognized as a Grass Ninja we'd fought.

"That's the girl with that vine jutsu that caught us," Garuki said, coming up behind me and taking the spot to my right, between me and the more powerful ninja of our village. "She's pretty good. If that Konoha girl doesn't expect it, I bet she could win."

I nodded, although secretly I already knew the outcome; the Grass Ninja's chakra supply was too much like my own, and I finally recognized the Konoha girl. The pink Chinese-style shirt and brown hair in double buns – she was one of the ninja who had participated in the Waterfall Exam one year ago, when we went to guard Nariko. True, she hadn't passed then, but both of her teammates had. She wasn't bound to be a pushover.

Looking to my left, I saw the Konoha team and its supporters – the Hokage simply watching, off to the side; Tenten's two female teammates (likely a temporary team formed for the purpose of the exam); and one more face that caught in my memory. The Chuunin who seemed to be in charge of their group was none other than Hyuuga Neji, winner of the Waterfall tournament, the genius ninja who had managed for the first time ever to humble my classmate Tsukiki Aiko.

He looked over as I was eyeing him, narrowed his pure white eyes, focused them briefly on mine, and then turned back to the two girls in his charge. One of them looked like a younger, less confident version of Neji; the other an older girl, dark haired and unremarkable but amiable enough to her teammate and instructor.

"What are you looking at?" Garuki asked, following my gaze.

"That's the Konoha team. I recognize a couple of them from that Waterfall exam, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, brushing it off. "Look, they're going to start fighting."

Sure enough; all around us, the conversation broke off as Shikamaru-san approached the two girls below. He mumbled some rules to them, and they nodded in assent. The moment he told them to begin, backing up lazily, both girls jumped back away from their opponent.

"Two distance fighters," Sutiibu-sensei remarked. "This should be interesting."

"Perhaps not as much so as you think, sensei," I muttered.

Nami, the Grass ninja, moved to a crouch position, her loose light purple pants billowing around her ankles, uneven blonde hair falling in front of her eyes. Tenten, apparently a defensive fighter, pulled out a couple of kunai but otherwise just watched, trying to get a feel for her opponent.

The first move was what I expected; Nami's Water of Life Jutsu, followed by the vines. I was admittedly impressed that she could produce such effects indoors, with no earth or nearby plants, and Tenten was apparently surprised as well to find her ankles rooted to the ground.

The Konoha kunoichi pulled a sharp knife from her large weapons arsenal, and while she attempted to hack off the vines, I looked back over my shoulder. "A weapons fighter, nee-san. It would be fun to see the two of you fight."

"You'll see it in the finals, kid," Katana said.

"Maybe not," Garuki warned, and we turned back to see the snaking vines growing to much larger proportions than they ever had with Garuki and me. They had almost reached her neck, and I thought perhaps I had miscalculated the girl's chakra supply, when Tenten finally sickened of trying to cut the material, and decided to attack the girl instead.

It was a smart move; Nami's jutsu required all of her focus, all of her attention. She was still crouched across the room in the same position, and was not even looking at Tenten, but at her hand seals, which required continual adjustment for the vines to keep growing.

Tenten managed to pull an arm free, as Nami lost control of her jutsu the larger it grew, and within seconds knifes pin cushioned the startled Nami's extremities. Tenten had impeccable aim; not a single knife hit a vital target, obviously her intent. Focusing shocked blue eyes on her attacker as her arms fell to her side, Nami's jutsu disappeared immediately. She seemed hardly capable of speech. Shikamaru intervened, and declared that since Nami could no longer move her arms, the match was over. Tenten won.

Cheers broke out from the small Konoha crowd; an older Jounin wearing green, with scary bushy eyebrows and bobbed hair, and a younger Chuunin looking identical, had appeared during the match and were cheering uproariously, something about "the Springtime of Youth." Neji just shook his head, eyes closed, small smile on his face.

"Good call," Sutiibu said, drawing my attention back to my own group. "How'd you know?"

"She's a lot like me, sensei."

"The Konoha girl? Seemed more like Katana-chan to me."

"No. Nami."

My sensei raised a skeptical eyebrow at the comparison, but before he had a chance to refute my claim, the electronic scoreboard lit up again, and the next two names were announced.

Hyuuga Hinata

Vs.

Yoruhana Hotaru

"Hyuuga?" I groaned, despairing immediately. The genius's sister? Cousin, perhaps? I was doomed.

But something in the Konoha camp caught my ear; quiet, but firm, the voice of Hyuuga Neji demanding, "Yoruhana?"

He looked my way again, and this time something like fear lit up his blank white eyes.


	6. Dark and Light

Chapter 6 – Dark and Light

I turned to my sensei, delirious, not sure what bothered me more – that I had to fight a Hyuuga, or that the genius ninja of Konoha seemed worried about it.

"Sensei…I…"

Sutiibu left his place by the other Jounin from our village and knelt before me, looking me in the eye, hands on his shoulders. "You bet I've heard about this genius clan, Hotaru. I know all about their skills, rumored prowess, that fearsome Bloodline…we've all heard about it. I'm not going to pretend this will be an easy fight for you to win."

I nodded, trying to maintain composure. Was it alarm or simply the potential of disappointing my sensei which had me so unsettled?

But he continued. "Look at me. You are smart, Hotaru-san. Use that. Believe in yourself. Self-confidence can change a person entirely. And," he glanced over my shoulder, "it seems to be something your opponent is lacking. So if you can harness that…"

I turned, following his gaze, to find the Konoha camp in disarray. The two bushy-eyebrowed ninja in green were cheering loudly as if their candidate had already won; Tenten had just arrived, victorious, and was beaming under her Hokage's praise; the third female teammate looked torn as to which group deserved more of her attention; and the two Hyuuga clan members were locked in a stare-down.

"I…I can…can't do what you ask of me, cousin Neji," the girl named Hinata stammered, a look of stubborn resolution on her face defying her fragile words. "I…I must compete. It is…my…my ninja way!..."

"Fine," Neji growled coarsely. Their attention was starting to attract the attention of the other Konoha ninjas, who were beginning to realize their competitor was not yet on the floor.

"Fine," he said again. "But remember this, Hinata-sama – I am not only your team leader here, but sworn to protect you by the laws of our family. I don't care if you don't know why - the _moment_ I tell you it's too dangerous, you must give up! Do you understand?"

The boy couldn't have been any older than me, but his commanding presence was enough to make Hinata quail beneath him. Yet I knew that look in his eye – it wasn't the look of a harsh team leader, but a protective older brother that I saw. I had a brother myself, so I knew.

_But what on earth is he so worried about? She seems like a totally competent ninja…_

"You know what to do. Don't hold back." My sensei's words brought me back to my own village's camp, where everyone was regarding me with interest, and most with a degree of worry.

"Yes, sir," I asserted, trying to appear more confident than I was.

"Yoruhana Hotaru and Hyuuga Hinata?" the voice of Nara Shikamaru called from the tournament floor. "It's troublesome, but if you don't get down here fast, we'll have to assume you both forfeit."

I nodded at my teammates and moved toward the stairs leading to the tournament floor.

"Hotaru-chan."

I turned back to see Yukiko-sama herself, the Yukikage, looking back at me. "It is like your sensei said: Use your unique strengths. The Hyuuga clan members prefer to fight close range; you can use that to your advantage."

"Hai, Yukikage-sama."

_Use my strengths…_ I flashed back to Kimi-san mentioning my flame attack earlier, saying that her sister "knew everything." I wondered, though, exactly how much she knew.

She smiled, violet eyes beaming at me. "Be strong, dear."

"Hai, Yukiko-san," I said again, this time in a softer tone, the way I addressed her only during my office visits with her, when she invited me for tea on weekends. She had been my protector ever since I arrived in Snow Village, and had never before led me astray. It seemed safe to take her advice.

"One last call," came the bored voice of Shikamaru; both Hinata-san and I tore ourselves away from our teammates and supporters, and in moments stood across from each other in the center of the round tournament room. Shikamaru-san stood between us.

"This probably goes without saying, but it can't be helped," Shikamaru-san said. "This match goes until one of you is killed or voluntarily withdraws, or whenever I decide to call a winner. If you don't want to be killed, please give up quickly; it's troublesome, but the Jounin may not be able to intervene fast enough to prevent deadly injury, otherwise."

I nodded and tried to appear more calm than I was. My opponent was shaking but her eyes stared firmly at me, and I wondered what her famed bloodline could see in my face.

_No time to wonder about things like that. Time to concentrate._

"Ganbatte, Hotaru!" Garuki shouted from the stands, and I smiled fleetingly. _That's right. Everyone's watching – sensei, Garuki-kun, Yukiko-sama, everyone. I can't disappoint them_.

"Are you two ready? Finally?" Shikamaru-san asked. Hinata and I nodded, and he stepped out of the way. The fight began.

Hinata didn't waste any time coming after me. She made a hand seal as she charged me, saying, "Byakugan!" and the frightening eye-enhancing Bloodline Limit was cast. I dodged while she was still disoriented from the change in sight.

_Lucky,_ I thought. _Seems she hasn't mastered its use yet._

_Not like I have room to talk. _

I positioned myself across the room from her, and both of us stopped to catch our breath. I was faster than her, and although I almost certainly had less stamina, she was conserving hers in a way that indicated she was worried about it. So she wouldn't try to out-run and catch me…

_Now's my chance! Yukiko-sama said it's better to attack from a distance!_

I pulled out several kunai, used a simple clone jutsu on them so she wouldn't know which to block, and sent what appeared to be 30 knives hurling at her.

Instead of trying to dodge, or figure out which to block, she stood up straight and began rotating her arms in the strangest manner.

At first I didn't see it, but points of light radiated out from her hands, and as she rotated formed a barrier of light around her. Except it wasn't light, but chakra; when I squinted, I could see so.

"Shugohakke, rokujuu yonshu!"

She had incredible flexibility and movement speed, that much was clear. By circling her arms, the chakra radiating outward produced an impassible barrier. The replicated kunai made small poofs and disappeared, and the real metal ones went clanging to the ground. Without hesitating, I pulled out the thinner shurikens, trying to aim them so they'd slip sideways through the defense, but to no avail. Nothing I threw could reach her; and anyway, weapons, aiming – it wasn't exactly my strong suit. I did best with taijutsu.

Still, locked into her defensive move like that, Hinata couldn't harm me from that distance either. She dropped the jutsu, and we simply stood across the arena from one another, staring each other down.

A few moments of no motion drew comments from the crowd – a few jeers, from the villages other than Snow and Leaf, but mostly it was our teammates, cheering us on.

"Come on, Hinata! The Springtime of Youth! You can take her!"

"Remember your range, Hinata!"

"Hurry up and get her while she's resting, Hotaru!"

I glanced up at the balcony, and saw my friends and supporters watching. Not far away, Hyuuga Neji's white eyes still stared at me, narrowed, quiet.

"Hyaaaa!" Hyuuga Hinata took advantage of my momentary lapse in attention, and charged. It was smart – clearly, neither one of us was going to accomplish anything at a distance. Her shout caught my attention just in time, and I planted a side-kick directly in her side as she approached.

She dodged, and instead of catching her dead-center, it only hit the edge of her ribcage. _She's fast,_ I thought. _Faster than before. But she still can't quite avoid me…_

But in half a second, she had ducked under my still-outstretched leg, and laid her palms gently on three places on my standing leg before I had time to blink.

_No problem. She hits with barely any power!..._

My leg crumpled underneath me as the chakra drained from it entirely. Shocked, I reeled backwards, putting distance between myself and my opponent.

I racked my brain for anything I knew about the Hyuugas, their Bloodline and their fighting style. I remembered Nariko mentioning that the Bloodline, Byakugan, allowed the user 360 degree vision, which was so precise that it could see the body's chakra flow system right down to the tiny tenketsu, pinpoints all over the body where chakra could be released. Their taijutsu style, Juuken or "Soft Fist," didn't use power; rather, they forced chakra through their palms into the tenketsu of their enemy, closing down the chakra holes like pressure points, shutting down their opponents chakra system. And since the chakra system was tied closely with the circulatory system…

"That means organ damage," I growled to myself. Hinata charged at me again, this time dodging completely my counter-measures, and successfully closing off most of the tenketsu in my lower body before I could pull away.

I could still use my legs, but without chakra to enhance their movements, they'd be exhausted beyond use in minutes. It was already getting more difficult to run from her. I could see her plan; to shut down my lower body until I couldn't move, then move in herself to shut off the rest of my chakra supply.

She took another pass at me; this time I had a knife pulled and hurled it at her as she pulled away, stabbing her right arm. She gasped and grabbed at the wound with her left hand; but she'd now shut down all the tenketsu in the lower half of my body, I could tell. Several of the major chakra flow centers in my upper body were cut off too if I wasn't mistaken. I sank to the ground as my body slowed down.

The chakra still glowed from Hinata's left hand, although the injury to her right seemed to disrupt the chakra current there. I was amazed that I could see such trace amounts of chakra, but I didn't have much time to think on it. Hinata, seeing how I wasn't moving, took a moment to wrap a piece of fabric around her injury.

"Is either of you going to give up?" I heard Shikamaru ask, but neither one of us responded, focused on the other. I couldn't give up. Too many people depended on me.

_There must be a way to beat her…there must…_

But I couldn't even stand any more, and any second now Hinata would certainly move in for the final blows.

_I can't disappoint sensei…_

I could hear my teammates, even Katana-san, yelling at me from the balcony above to get up and move.

_I won't…_

Hinata finished tying off her injury, and took a classic Juuken pose.

_I won't…_

"Devine Sixty-four strikes!" she said, and a set of green symbols radiated on the floor around her. The outer circle just reached me. It was a finishing move, and I was in its sights…

_I won't lose._

"I won't lose!" I yelled, and as the fiery chakra flooded my veins, I felt the power flowing back into my weak muscles and stood. The flame was in a ball in my right hand before I even felt it there, and without thinking, I launched it forward, pushing the flame before me with a surge of chakra I didn't even know I had. A whip-like extension of flame shot halfway across the arena to where Hinata stood, poised for attack, and swept against her already-injured arm.

Her clothing caught fire, and she dropped quickly to the ground, rolling around to put it out. When she rose, it was a different Hinata that stared back at me, eyes wide and shaking, hesitating to move.

"What…is that…chakra?" was all she could manage to stammer.

The painful coursing of the hot chakra through my body, and the sudden change in the balance of power, gave me a bit of a rush, and I reached back with my arm ready to lash out again with the flame. Hinata switched into defensive stance, readying the move she had used earlier to deflect my weapons with her chakra.

_Useless against flame,_ I somehow knew, and grinned. Just as I pressed the flame forward…

…The lightning-fast form of Hyuuga Neji raced past me, sweeping his cousin Hinata in his arms and out of harm's way.

Shocked into non-action, the fire-chakra receded in my veins and flame extinguished from my hands, I dropped to the ground in exhaustion once again.

"My student, Hyuuga Hinata, hereby withdraws from this fight."

This pronunciation of Hyuuga Neji caused clamor to erupt throughout the stadium, and me to simply stare with a blank and slightly dizzy look at the scene before me.

"It's troublesome, but she has no choice since you came to her rescue," said Shikamaru-san, who was walking to center arena now, checking to be sure no one was terribly injured.

"It's…it's okay," Hinata whispered. "I…trust Neji-san. I…will gladly give up if he thinks it is best." The shaky tone of voice told the rest of the story.

"Like I said, you have no choice," said Shikamaru, "but that makes it official. The winner of this match," he proclaimed to the crowd, "is Yoruhana Hotaru, by default."

My companions in the balcony produced moderate applause, as did quite a few of the other ninjas in attendance. But the absolute confusion of the scene, from my sudden revival and attack power to Hyuuga Neji's inexplicable intrusion, seemed beyond the comprehension of many; the applause was sparse, uncertain, as if no one knew exactly why they were cheering.

"Hotaru, that was amazing!" came Garuki's enthusiastic shout, reminding me that my friends and village members would be waiting for me. I looked to Hinata, hoping to congratulate her on a well-fought match, but she was still under the protective wing of Hyuuga Neji, talking with the officials. I made my way back to the Snow Village camp on the balcony, disoriented and feeling vaguely cheated of any feeling of completion.

I wasn't used to winning in one on one sparring, but I wasn't sure I liked winning the way I had.


	7. The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Chapter 7 – The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Chapter 7 – The Boy Who Cried Wolf

I was so exhausted from chakra loss that it took me a good ten minutes to climb the stairs to the balcony where my fellow Snow Village ninja stood, waiting for me. Garuki was still cheering, and Kimi-chan had joined in. Katana gave me a questioning look, expressing at once approval and - yes, I was sure - intimidation. Koori eyed me, face unreadable. Nodin and Dai-san both nodded in appreciation of my victory. Only then came the two reactions I was most looking forward to: first, my sensei wrapped his arms around me in a congratulatory hug, and the moment he let go, Yukiko-san reached out and shook my hand.

"Well done," was all she said, but her sparkling eyes, just like my sensei's in that regard, said much more.

"I didn't exactly do anything…"

"Are you crazy?" Garuki said. "You fought on par with a Hyuuga! That's incredible!"

"It really is," Kimi stated.

"She bowed out. I didn't even really win."

"It's obvious to anyone here, Hotaru-san," Kimi said. "Maybe we don't know why Neji-san stepped in to stop the fight right there, exactly…but if you'd kept going, you would have won."

"That Konoha nin would have died, not just lost," said Fuyuno Koori, and we looked over at him.

"I wouldn't have killed her!" I protested.

He shook his head. "You had no control. You would have killed her."

I wasn't sure what to say in response, so indignant as I was, but Katana jumped in. "He's right…at least, I think that's what that Neji kid thought. He would never have intervened like that unless he thought his competitor's life was in danger." She turned to Koori-san. "But Hotaru-chan wouldn't have killed that girl. She's not like that."

"How do you know?" he challenged.

"She's my teammate!"

"Roka was your teammate too. Are you saying you knew what he would do?!"

"Silence. Both of you." Yukiko-sama's voice was gentle, but the energy that accompanied it tense. All of us turned to focus our attention on the threatening chakra that emanated from her, reminded of the reason she was considered a Kage; however she wasn't even looking at us, but at the electric announcement board across the stadium.

The next set of fighters had been revealed.

Mikata Garuki

vs.

Kuroyama Yousuke

I was still so tired that it took a moment to register. When I looked over, my friend had gone slightly pale.

"He's one of those Sand nins," Garuki said.

"That's a good thing!" Sutiibu-sensei said, although I could feel a bit of hesitation in his words. "You already know a bit about him and his attacks. Use it to your advantage! You'll be fine."

Garuki smiled, nodded, and turned to leave.

"Garuki-kun, remember to watch out for his genjutsu!" I called after him, getting a wave and a "Sure thing!" in reply.

I turned to Sensei. "Sensei, do you really think he'll be fine?"

Sutiibu-sensei frowned. "I don't know, Hotaru-chan. But trust me, I won't let him get killed."

"H…hai."

I looked over; the two Hyuuga clan members hadn't returned to their post. Hinata was likely being treated for the injury to her right arm.

As I was thinking this, a medical nin appeared in the stairwell and introduced himself. "Yoruhana Hotaru. Do you mind if I take a quick look?"

"Ah, sure, no problem." Now that he mentioned it, my legs did still feel kind of numb where the tenketsu had been shut down.

The ninja had me sit down and knelt beside me, using a jutsu to make my chakra momentarily visible. I couldn't help be a little embarrassed by how small an amount remained. The medical ninja poked and prodded a few areas, which seemed to respond fine. He examined my right arm where the flame attack had come from; to my mild shock, I wasn't burnt at all. Part of that was the anti-flammable wrap I had place around it, but I knew that wouldn't have protected me entirely.

_I didn't really have any control over it, though, like Koori said. I must simply have been so focused on projecting the chakra away from me, towards Hinata, that it didn't get close enough to me to burn me._

I reminded myself to tell Nariko about this, next time I saw her. It was possible that it could help with my training.

But Koori's words rang true in my ears; I hadn't had any control over that flame, and I would have killed the girl for sure, albeit by accident. The flame had come over me unconsciously this time, and I didn't like that. I wasn't anxious to use it again.

"All done," the med-ninja said, standing up. I stood too, a little stiffly. "Look, I hate to say this," he said, "but our medical techniques have nothing on the Hyuuga's Byakugan, when it comes to the chakra circulatory system. I think you'll be fine, but I'd like you to stop by the Hyuuga clan household later on and have Hiyashi-sama take a look at you, okay?"

"Oh…okay," I said.

The medical nin handed me a note. "Just bring this to him. Don't worry; just because you beat the Head Family daughter doesn't mean they'll hold it against you." He winked and left.

"The Head Family…daughter?" I wondered.

"Hotaru-san," Kimi said. "Your friend is starting."

I walked over and took a place at the balcony between Kimi and Yukiko-san. "All right, Garuki! Go get him!" I looked to Kimi. "You think he heard my warning about the genjutsu?" I asked worriedly.

"I dunno, why? Is this Sand guy really good at them or something?"

"Something like that."

"That's funny," she said. "We came across that Sand group out there. I mean, we didn't fight them, because they didn't notice us watching…but Koori-san said they didn't seem very good."

"You didn't see them fight?"

"Nope."

"Koori-san underestimated them," I said.

Kimi shrugged and we turned our attention to the center ring. The fight had just begun. Garuki pulled out several shuriken and aimed at his opponent. Yousuke pulled away, did three hand signs in succession, and had called a giant cactus out of nowhere before Garuki's ninja stars were anywhere near him. The cactus took all the blows for him.

"Not bad," Katana said, from behind us. "Obviously that cactus is normally used to feed needles to his group member, a support jutsu. To use it that way is pretty ingenious."

I nodded. Yousuke was still hiding behind the ten-foot-tall cactus, planning his next move. Every time Garuki rotated to try to get around the cactus, Yousuke would move around the other side.

"They can't keep doing that forever…" I said.

"Hey, that Garuki kid has that really cool double-summon, right?" Kimi asked. "Why isn't he summoning? It would be a really smart move here."

"I think he doesn't want to give away that move yet," I said, although I'd been wondering the same thing. "It would be a great advantage in the finals."

I glanced to my left. Yukiko-sama was simply watching the fight with interest.

Garuki pulled two shuriken, and threw them curving around opposite sides of the cactus in a way that indicated Katana had likely been working with him on his aim. Before Yousuke could figure out which way to dodge, they had hit each of his arms.

"He won't stay there anymore," Katana mumbled.

Sure enough, Yousuke leapt up, jumped to the top of the cactus, and perched on its tip. With a deep breath and a Tiger symbol, he shouted "Wind Element, dragon's breath jutsu!" A gush of wind left his lungs and swept downward, blasting Garuki into the nearest wall.

"Interesting," Yukiko-sama said. "It works like the dragon's fire breath jutsu of the Konoha Uchiha clan…except with wind instead of fire."

"Who cares," I couldn't help saying, "as long as Garuki doesn't get hit by it again."

I got several stares from around the Snow group; no other ninja could have gotten away with talking to the Yukikage like that, I suppose. But she just laughed.

"Yes, I suppose that's true."

I smiled at her, then returned a frowning face in the direction of my friend. He stood, slowly; it didn't look like he was injured too badly from the blow, but he was definitely sore. As soon as he had taken a few steps, the Sand nin came at him again with the same attack.

But if there was one thing Garuki knew how to do, it was how to fall without getting hurt. He was hit, but this time he was prepared, and he landed cleanly, avoiding any serious injury. Garuki was strong; he may not be able to withstand ten or fifteen of those wind attacks, but the other ninja was going to have to come up with something different if he wanted to finish the job quickly.

The Sand nin, Yousuke, seemed to be thinking the same thing. He switched his hand signal, and then came the move I had been dreading.

"Lost Desert Illusion."

Garuki stopped in his tracks and began looking blankly all around him. Whatever he was seeing, we weren't.

He stumbled a few steps off to the right, then to the left.

"No!" I wailed. "I can't believe after all that he got caught in the genjutsu!"

"Don't," said the Yukikage beside me, so quietly that I could barely hear her, "be so sure."

"Huh?"

"Watch."

I had no idea what she was talking about; Garuki was still stumbling in circles, looking increasingly more tired, even panting a bit with what I assumed was thirst.

_Wait…not in circles… _

"He's moving closer to the target!" I said, quietly enough that only those next to me could hear so I wouldn't tip off the Sand nin. Kimi stared at me.

"What?"

Just then, Yousuke added a second hand seal to the genjutsu: the Tiger seal. He was going for the Wind jutsu again.

Then, another hand seal.

"It's different this time..."

"Wind Element: Dragon's Talon Breath," he said, drawing in air and preparing to attack.

"Talons? Garuki, move!" I shouted, but he was one step ahead of me. In half a second, he had dropped his act, bit his thumb, and summoned a large cloud of butterflies. Flapping their wings as one, they created a storm of wind to counteract that of the Sand nin. A few were hit by wind blades and disappeared, but the majority of the flock remained, and Garuki had moved close enough to his target that they were in perfect position for attack.

"Butterfly Cloud, Razor Wings!" he cried.

"Checkmate," Katana said from behind me.

The butterflies' wings glinted razor sharp as they flew toward Yousuke. He warded a few off by waving his hands, but it only resulted in cuts in his jacket and skin. As the large part of the cloud converged on him, he leapt off of the cactus, trying to avoid them.

"It's not enough, nee-san," I said sadly. "They barely do any damage, and he can outrun them."

"But can he outrun a wolf?" she asked.

"What?"

Garuki grinned as the Sand nin ran wildly backwards, far away from the butterflies but backed up against a wall.

"Transform."

Three of the butterflies, hovering around Yousuke's head now, transformed into wolves. Two on his ankles, one with its front paws on the boy's chest, jaws around his neck.

"That's what," Katana said simply.

Yousuke was shaking violently in place. He hadn't had time to complete a replacement jutsu; this was the real Sand nin with wolves' jaws holding him against the wall.

Shikamaru-san stepped forward to prevent further combat. "The winner of this match is Mikata Garuki," he proclaimed.

All of us cheered, along with most of the people in the stadium. Only Sumi-san, the female Sand nin, stared icily down at her teammate, who had been released from captivity the moment the match ended.

"Yes!" Kimi shouted. "Snow Village two, rest of the world zero!"

"Technically," I said, "Konoha's won one also…"

"But not against us," she pointed out.

Garuki grinned sheepishly from below, went to check and see if Yousuke was all right (the boy merely looked at him with a shaken expression and nodded tersely), then made his way up the stairs, through the hallway, and back to us.

"Garuki, that was amazing!" I gave him a high-five to which he smiled appreciatively. The rest of the group converged on him, and I left him to their congratulations, instead stepping over to Katana.

"Nee-san, how'd you know he'd do that?"

"It's a version of a combo move we've been working on. He knows those Razor Wings don't do much damage, even though they distract the enemy. So I knew he had something else planned."

"That acting was brilliant," I heard someone say to Garuki. I looked over, and saw him beaming, albeit a bit uncomfortably, under the praise.

"Good work, by the way," I heard in my ear. I turned, and the Yukikage was smiling back at me. "You were the only one aside from me to realize he was acting, I believe."

"Well, I had a little help…"

"You have a good eye, Hotaru-chan."

Across the stadium, the next set of names had lit up the screen.

Furuzawa Keiji

vs.

Taji Sen

"Awn, how boring," Kimi said.

"Not necessarily," I said. "That Keiji-san, he's one of the Rain ninjas we helped pass the Forest of Death exam. Could make things interesting."

"Naw, just boring," Kimi replied. "We took a scroll from that Grass kid's team early in the exam, and you were there when we fought the Rain team – neither one is very good."

"Even weak teams may have strong individual ninjas," Yukiko-san said, causing Kimi to fall respectfully silent. "Either way, one of them has to win this match, and you ought to pay attention – you may end up fighting that winner in the next round."

Kimi only nodded.

Below us, the two boys had entered the tournament floor. The Rain ninja, Furuzawa Keiji, looked more the farmer-nin than ever in his classic Rain Village hat and chest armor reminiscent of overalls. The slight Grass ninja who stood below, I was surprised to see, was the very Grass boy who sat beside me in the first Exam, the blond kid with the blow-dart kit strapped over his fishnet T-shirt. I grinned, and looked to Kimi.

"This may be interesting after all."

Garuki approached from behind me and made himself some space at the railing between the Yukikage and me.

"Congratulations, Garuki-kun. I knew you could do it!"

"Thanks," he said. "I kind of feel bad about how I won, though."

"What do you mean?"

"I had to call the wolves on him. His ankles are pretty cut up where they held him."

"Well, yeah," Kimi interjected, "but if you hadn't done that, he would have really hurt you with that bladed wind attack. So you had to do it."

"And anyway," I added, "you did such a good job! You should be happy!"

"I am," he said. "But I'm sorry, too. They should really have a word for

that…happy and sorry…I got it, I'm happry!"

I laughed, as Kimi just stared. I could practically feel Katana's eyes rolling behind us, but I thought it was funny…then again, I was used to Garuki's specific brand of humor.

We turned our attention downward; the fight had already begun. Both boys needed a bit of space and time for their specialty techniques to work properly; they were fighting hand-to-hand now, trying to find a large enough opening. Keiji-san found one, and tried to call his swamp jutsu, but found himself unable to do so indoors.

"He's at a disadvantage inside," Katana mumbled.

Taji-san, the Grass Nin, found a chance to load one of his darts, and blew it fast enough that Keiji-san didn't have time to swat it away. It hit is neck, and I held my breath, waiting for the poison to take effect.

Keiji removed the dart like an annoying mosquito. Nothing happened.

I scanned the balcony for the Grass teammates, wondering if finding them may explain something to me. Oiwa Kentaro, the boy with the diamond sword, was rolling his eyes at his teammate's attempts. Nami, who had lost so badly in the first round, was nowhere to be seen.

_That's right – Nami_. I didn't know much about the girl, but it seemed logical that if she specialized in plant growth jutsu, she was probably the source of the poison that would normally clog Taji Sen's blow darts.

"Without his teammate, those darts won't do any good," I said to no one in particular.

Kimi looked at me, then back at the fight, then back at me again. "Oh! You mean that girl on his team is like our Kwahu-kun – her jutsu supports her teammates. She makes poison for him, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's my guess."

Realizing that neither of their special attacks were doing any good, the two boys on the floor had reached a taijutsu stalemate, futilely exchanging shuriken that clanked repeatedly to the ground after meeting in midair. I yawned, and let my attention wander. To my left, the two Hyuugas were just returning to their group. Hinata's right arm was in a sling. I reflected that my kunai may have actually cut straight to the bone, and felt vaguely bad – but being a ninja, hurting people, it was my job. Self-defense, defense of my village. Hinata's job was the same; she knew, certainly, that such injuries were mere occupational hazards.

I didn't think she'd hold it against me, and a slight, demure smile in my direction reinforced that thought. Hyuuga Neji, however, regarded me coldly, narrowing his eyes and staring me down. I quailed under his gaze; Hinata may have been the Head Family Daughter, whatever that was (it sounded important), but Neji's reputation as a ninja genius had spread cross-continent, even though he was no older than me. He looked as if he was about to say something, when a collective gasp overtook the arena.

Curious, I returned my eyes to the fight below. Shockingly, Furuzawa Keiji had his opponent in a headlock. The other nin's hands were both crushed. He struggled half-heartedly in Keiji's arms, unable to free himself with a jutsu or any other method because of the injury to his hands. Momentarily he hung limp, and Shikamaru-san quickly announced Keiji the winner, allowing the med-nins to revive the unconscious Taji Sen before any permanent damage could be done.

"What…happened?" I asked. "I just looked away for a second…they were at a complete stalemate…"

"I dunno," Kimi said. "I wasn't paying attention either."

"The Rain ninja got the Grass ninja into a predictable attack pattern, then broke the pattern unexpectedly and charged," Garuki filled us in. "It was hard to see what happened next, because he was really fast, but the Rain ninja pulled the other guy off balance and stomped on both of his hands when he went down. When the other guy fought back, he put him in a head lock."

"He tricked him into attacking, and took him down with basic taijutsu when he wasn't expecting it," I muttered. "Even though Taji-san knew the attack would be taijutsu and would come from the front, he got tricked into allowing it to happen. That Rain ninja, Keiji…he…"

"He's pretty good," Kimi admitted. "At least, he's really smart with theory."

"You could learn from him, Hotaru-chan," the Yukikage directed at me. "Like him, you have excellent theory scores. If you could learn to use them in a situation like that, to read the enemy's weaknesses and manipulate them to your own advantage…such an ability would make up for lack of natural talent, I believe."

I blushed slightly at the "lack of natural talent" comment, but she was right. That ninja was no stronger than me, but was able to read his opponent so thoroughly that it didn't matter in the end who was stronger. That's the way I needed to learn to fight.

Sutiibu nodded. "Yukikage-sama's right, of course. You're smart. That fighting style would work for you."

"I know, sensei."

"Remind me to work that into your training program when we return to Hidden Snow."

"Hai, sensei."

Kimi had been unusually quiet for some time. I looked to my right and saw her staring silently at the announcement board.

Ginkaze Kimi

vs.

Takabashi Hisa

Kimi's expression was entirely unreadable.

"Wow, you're lucky, Kimi-san!" Garuki said. "That's the Rain girl we fought, the one with the purple hair. She should be a piece of cake for you."

I eyed her carefully. I wasn't as adept at reading faces as Nariko was, but something was definitely going on that I wasn't aware of. Kimi looked up at her sister.

"She's a Rain ninja."

"You should defeat her quickly, imooto-san," Yukiko-san said, equally opaque in expression.

"Hai, onee-sama." Kimi turned and gave me a quick smile then, saying, "No problem, right? Wish me luck!" before heading down the stairs. I was so caught off guard by the abrupt change in demeanor that I didn't even reply with a "good luck!" until she was halfway down the stairwell.

"Yukiko-sama?..." I asked.

"Never mind, dear," she said, smiling. "This girl should be no problem for Kimi-san, just like she said. Enjoy the fight, okay?"

The two girls had reached the floor below. The Rain girl, Hisa-chan, seemed to have recovered from being held Garuki's hostage the day before; in fact, she appeared rather confident. She took another look at the announcement board, then at Kimi, who was standing defiantly across from her. Hisa, in her grey dress and purple hair, was like a color mirror-image of silver-haired Kimi with her violet eyes and clothing. They were even close to the same size.

"Ginkaze….Kimi." Hisa tasted her opponent's name, and cocked her head. "Where have I heard that name before?" She paused a moment, apparently not noticing Kimi's death glare. Then her eyes lit up. "No way. Ginkaze? As in, Raidon and Ame Ginkaze??"

"Leave my parents out of this," Kimi growled.

"Parents?" Hisa smiled even more, a dangerous smile. "So _that's_ where they went to."

"What's she talking about?" I asked Yukiko, alarmed. The Second Yukikage said nothing, but looked a little pale.

"You are a Missing Nin of Hidden Rain," Hisa-san announced to the stadium, "and I'm going to have to kill you now."


	8. RainClouds of the Past

Chapter 8 – Rain-Clouds of the Past

Chapter 8 – Rain-Clouds of the Past

I looked back and forth between Kimi-san, on the floor, and Yukiko-san beside me. The Second Yukikage gave a slight sigh; meanwhile, Kimi had regained her composure, and was looking increasingly angry.

"Silver hair, purple eyes…there's no mistaking it!" Hisa laughed. "The Silver-wind clan, the Ginkazes of Hidden Rain. My parents have spent the past 27 years looking for you guys, and I draw your name on luck alone!" She pulled out an umbrella, inspected it, and replaced it in the harness on her back, choosing another one instead. Kimi looked on without moving.

Hisa was still muttering joyfully to herself. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out that first time we met in the woods. Well, no matter. I saw your moves out there; I know how your clan works. And let me tell you one thing, Missing Nin…" She opened the new umbrella over her head, and formed a seal with her other hand. "Nobody can outperform a Rain ninja using Hidden Rain techniques! Needle Storm Jutsu!"

A hail of needles came raining downward from the sky, seemingly from all directions but converging on Kimi at an alarming speed.

I barely caught it, that glint in Kimi's violet eyes. Then she was moving too fast to follow, spinning in a circle, needles raining i_outward/i_ from her body. "Reverse Needle Storm Jutsu," she said as she spun. I recognized the move from the Forest of Death. Hisa's eyes grew wide as she watched every one of her needles clank against one of Kimi's and fall to the ground. Not a single one of the Rain Ninja's weapons reached its target.

Kimi slid to a stop and grinned.

"Are you done yapping yet?" she asked her stunned opponent. "You need to be paying closer attention. First of all, you should have known that technique was coming – like you said, you saw me do it just yesterday! Secondly, I was born, raised, and trained my entire life in Hidden Snow. I don't care if your parents are Hunter Nins, or what you say about my family, but _I_ am not a Missing Nin!"

"I'll still be able to bring this information home to my parents," Hisa stammered. "I'll be the hero of my clan!"

"It doesn't matter if you know where we are!" Kimi said. "Hidden Rain and Hidden Snow aren't allies; you need permission from the Yukikage to even enter our village without being killed."

Hisa suddenly looked as if she remembered something; her eyes flitted to the woman standing beside me at the balcony railing. "The…Yukikage…."

I shook my head. _That was the wrong move, Kimi._

Kimi blinked, then realized her mistake, too late.

"The Yukikage is a Ginkaze too!"

Kimi charged the girl, but Hisa pulled back and fended her off with no more than a couple of kunai.

I looked to my benefactor, the young Yukikage standing beside me. "Yukikage-sama," I said, addressing her formally, "please tell me what they're talking about…you can't be a Missing Nin, can you?"

"No," Yukiko-sama said quietly. "I, like Kimi, was raised and trained entirely in Hidden Snow. I am twenty-six years old, Hotaru-san. My parents and their entire clan were, in fact, members of the Hidden Village of Rain for a great many generations. They left that village twenty-seven years ago."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Our Yukikage was the descendant of Missing Nins? It was a frightening revelation. Missing Nins were notoriously dangerous, often murderers of their own village mates or family.

Then I remembered something.

"Like Ryuro…."

The Yukikage examined my face, then smiled gently. "Yes."

Suddenly I understood why the young Yukikage had been so tolerant, so helpful, regarding my own entrance into the Village of Hidden Snow.

Garuki, who knew a little of my history, looked at me questioningly. "You mean her parents dropped out of ninja school? That doesn't make sense."

"No," I said. "It just means that sometimes those labeled Missing Nins don't exactly deserve their reputation." _And sometimes their families suffer for it,_ I added to myself.

The Yukikage looked at me as if she knew what I was thinking – it occurred to me that she probably did, somehow – and then returned her attention to the match. Kimi seemed a bit frustrated by her opponent's taunts and accusations; she wasn't performing up to her normal level.

"Don't let her get to you, Kimi!" I shouted. Garuki joined in, and even quiet Nodin at one point, and finally Kimi nodded and steeled her expression. Beside me, the Yukikage smiled, perhaps seeing something in her younger sister that even we didn't.

Kimi stared down her opponent. "My sister, like me, was born and raised in Hidden Snow, and saved the entire village during the war. She's a Snow Nin through-and-through, like my whole family!"

"That doesn't change the fact that your parents are Missing Nins of Hidden Rain. When I get back to my village and tell them what I learned, you'll never have an alliance with Hidden Rain again!"

"Like we'd want one," Kimi growled.

"We're one of the most powerful villages out there," Hisa exclaimed. "We could crush your village if you went against us!"

"My clan left Hidden Rain because they were disgusted with your war policies, your back-stabbing of allies and assassinations of innocent people," Kimi stated, drawing some muttering from members of the crowd. "We'd never consider an alliance with you anyway! In any case, you're forgetting one thing."

"What's that?"

"So far, in this part of the exam alone, Snow has outperformed Rain three-to-one."

Hisa thought carefully. "That's not true! It's only two-to-one, and I'm about to win this fight. It'll be even."

Kimi had her hands behind her back, and I saw them twitch into a seal, completely hidden from her opponent.

"It's three-to-one," she repeated.

The blizzard appeared from nowhere, enshrouding the purple-haired Rain girl, snow piling on her outstretched umbrella, which broke under the weight. Hisa tried to move, but Kimi was behind her.

"Ninja Arts: Shadow in the Blizzard."

When Hisa moved, Kimi moved too, directly behind her. Hisa, running out of visibility and clearly disoriented, tried to pull her second umbrella from behind her back and open it. Kimi's motion followed the same path. Hisa brought the umbrella down in front of her, hoping to open it and shield herself from the snow so she could see; but Kimi had a kunai in her hand, and when Hisa's arm went forward and down, Kimi's weaponed hand did the same – the knife carving a straight line down the center of Hisa's back.

Kimi plainly stated "Kai," releasing both the snow-storm genjutsu and the Shadow ninjutsu just in time, allowing Hisa to fall forward onto the solid ground without dragging Kimi along with her. Hisa lay panting on the floor as Kimi stood, looking down from her from behind.

"You said no ninja from another village could outperform a Rain Ninja with Rain jutsu," Kimi said to the bleeding girl, as the match was called and the medic-nins crowded around. "Maybe so – but I was able to _match_ your skill, at least, wasn't I? So, what allowed me to beat you so easily, when our Rain jutsu were at such an equal level?"

The girl Hisa, now on her back and being tended to, stared upward at Kimi silently.

"It's because I'm a Ginkaze," Kimi stated proudly. "We may have come from Rain at one point, and so we may still be pretty good at clan techniques that we learned back in Rain. But we're Snow Ninja now, with Snow attacks to boot – and now there's nobody in any village that can match or predict our unique attacks. Remember that, Hisa of the Takabashi Clan."

Hisa was carried off on a stretcher. Kimi watched her disappear through the doors, being carried to the hospital wing, before leaping calmly all the way up to the balcony, landing beside her sister.

"I apologize, onee-sama," she said. "I gave away more than I should have."

"It couldn't have been helped," Yukiko-sama said, before smiling down at her youngest sister. "That was a well-fought match, Kimi-chan."

Kimi smiled shyly back. "Thank you, nee-san."

There was little time for celebration, though, as the next match was announced, causing all of us to draw in our breath.

Cheveyo Nodin

vs.

Ueki Sumi

There were no groans, no exclamations, not even a sigh from the members of our group. One by one, silently, we all just turned to look at Nodin. Calmly, he swept the eagle feather on his headband away from his left eye, and nodded, then walked down the stairs and out of sight.

"Why is everyone so quiet?" Kimi asked. Her eyes, worried, turned to me. "Who is this Sumi girl?"

The sight of the three lifeless Konoha ninjas hanging from the rock face in the Forest of Death flashed through my memory. I cringed and turned away from my young friend, trying to keep the contents of my stomach in place.

"Hotaru? What is it?"

"She's pretty brutal, that one," Garuki said. The Yukikage placed a hand on my shoulder, but watched the floor silently as Nodin and Sumi stepped out. Hardly comforted, I looked around behind me. Katana and Koori both appeared tense, backs against the wall, staring at the arena floor without a word. Dai-sensei looked worried. Sutiibu noticed.

"He's not ready for this fight, is he, Dai-san?" my instructor asked.

"No."

"That was blunt," Katana said.

"He's a good fighter. Not that good," was Dai's only reply.

Koori spoke. "I saw these guys in the woods, that Sand trio. Shouldn't be a problem. They're young; inexperienced."

"They also came into this final round with nearly half of the total scrolls from the Forest of Death," Sutiibu said. "That wasn't an accident. Maybe your team was lucky – my team's seen them for what they're worth."

"Don't forget, either," said Dai-sensei, "that Cheveyo-kun isn't as experienced as you or Kimi."

Kimi looked from my sensei back to me. "Hotaru-san?"

"Cheer loud, Kimi-chan," I said, staring down at the floor where Shikamaru had just given the command to begin. "He'll need it."

Down on the floor, Ueki Sumi grinned maliciously. "What, this is the best they could come up with?" She pulled several oversized needles from nowhere, and arranged them idly between her fingers. "Let's see. What shall I incapacitate first?"

A wooden shuriken knocked the needles from her fingers and they went clanking to the ground. Sumi blinked, and looked up into Nodin's eyes. He stood in a crouched throwing position.

"Oh?"

"Don't dawdle," he said.

"Yay, Nodin!" Kimi cheered beside me, jumping up and down. "Way to show her!"

"He's in trouble," Katana said. Koori glared at her, but said nothing.

_Katana's right,_ I thought. _That was the wrong move._

Back on the arena floor, Sumi's eyes narrowed. "Fine. I was going to have some fun with you, but if you'd rather get down to business…" Leaving the needles scattered on the ground, she formed a quick seal and charged at Nodin, hands held flat.

"It looks like she's doing that Hyuuga clan taijutsu," Garuki said.

I shook my head. "No. It's different. That seal she performed was for the Chakra Scalpel Jutsu. That medical technique."

"Oh, that's right; I've seen Jomei's dad use it."

"That's the one."

"Why is she using a medical technique?"

"Remember the woods?"

Garuki turned pale. "Run, Nodin!" he shouted, and Kimi and I joined in.

As it turned out, though, Nodin was on top of things. He dodged the initial attack with surprising alacrity, swung a spinning back-fist into Sumi's head from behind, and was halfway across the stadium before she could recover.

"He's fast!" I exclaimed.

"He's fast," Kimi agreed.

"He's always so quiet," I said. "He barely moves or speaks. I had no idea he could move so quickly."

"I guess he conserves a lot of energy or something," Garuki said.

Kimi smiled. "Kwahu-kun is full of surprises."

Sumi charged again, but was learning quickly. This time, she anticipated Nodin's dodge, and spun sideways at the last second, diving past Nodin's feet and slicing his right ankle with her jutsu as she passed.

Nodin crumpled – his Achilles' tendon was cut clean through. Sumi was quickly recovering from the dive-and-roll maneuver and headed back at our fallen Snow comrade. Nodin reached in his pouch, pulled out a strange looking herb, and popped it into his mouth.

"What was that?" I asked Kimi.

"Healing herbs," Kimi said, but she didn't sound particularly relieved. "They're great for repairing damage like that, but they take an awfully long time to start working."

"He doesn't have time, I'm afraid, Kimi-chan."

Kimi frowned and let out another chorus of "Go, Kwahu-kun!" in case it might make a difference.

"Hey, Kimi? Why do you always call him Kwahu?" Garuki asked.

Kimi, watching her teammate breathlessly, suddenly smiled. "That's why."

Just as Sumi was approaching again, Nodin bit his thumb, slid it across his forehead protector, and added a hand seal. Sumi skidded past as the giant golden eagle, Nodin on its back, swooped up into the sky.

"Kwahu. It means eagle."

Koori, who had been leaning against the back wall, jumped up and stared at the bird. "How long has he been able to do that?" he demanded.

"Since about two days ago," Kimi said, smiling. "He wanted to keep it a secret in case he had to fight you in the finals."

"Why'd he tell you?!"

Kimi shrugged.

Nodin's eagle was circling the outer reaches of the balcony. A couple of Grass ninjas in the stands ducked as it passed. Suddenly the bird swooped, diving downward straight at Sumi. The talons caught her back, leaving red streaks down her tan dress. She swore, and the bird moved up, then down, and came at her again.

Sumi ducked, rolled, and grabbed her needles off of the floor as the bird's talons swept passed. From on her back, she aimed at the bird and threw.

One, two to the wings.

One to the heart.

One to Nodin as the bird disappeared and he fell to the ground.

"He shouldn't have used something with so little practice." Koori sighed, but didn't return to his spot on the wall; he watched as Nodin hit the ground, even cringing a bit at the crack of bone, belying his feigned disinterest.

"Kwahu!" Kimi cried.

Sumi was up in half a second, Scalpel jutsu reactivated, rushing at the downed Nodin. He managed to prop himself up on one elbow and hold an arm out in defense, but Sumi slashed it at the shoulder and it hung limp. She swung one leg over him and positioned herself on top of his broken body.

"Now you'll pay for what that stupid bird of yours did to me," she growled. "You'll pay for messing with Sand!"

A Healing glow emanated from both hands as she pinned him down and held those hands together over his heart. Before Shikamaru or the other Jounin recognized what was being done, the healing blue glow turned red, and Nodin's face turned ashen.

"She's destroying his heart cells!" Yukiko-sama cried out. "For Heaven's sake stop the match before he's killed!"

Three Jounin surrounded Sumi from her back and both sides, holding her hands and dispelling the jutsu. Nodin groaned beneath them all. He was barely moving.

The Jounin carted Sumi away to another room to have her wounds patched up. Shikamaru sighed and declared her the winner ("How troublesome."). Another group of medic nins had surrounded Nodin, and practically teleported him out of the room.

"Nodin…" Kimi was still staring at the spot where he had been in horror. Koori, who had rushed up to the balcony edge, backed away now, eyes wide, shaking his head.

"Reverse healing," Katana wondered aloud. "What kind of ninja is that girl?"

Kimi was crying now, and her sister looked at her worriedly. "Hotaru-chan. Could you do me a favor?" the Yukikage asked me. I nodded. "Take Kimi-chan down to the hospital wing. It's just down the stairs and through the hallway on the left…you can see, there, how Cheveyo-kun is doing."

"I'm coming too," Koori growled.

"You shall stay," the Yukikage stated. Koori froze, frowned, then nodded, and sulked back to his old spot on the wall.

"I'll stay too," Garuki said, moving to stand by Katana and Sutiibu. "I can fill you in on what happens during the next match. Looks like it's…." he looked at the scoreboard. "Kamiguchi Kenjiro, that green-haired Rain kid, versus Kei, the last Konoha girl."

"Too bad I'll miss it," I said, but took Kimi by the hand and directed her to the stairwell. "I'm sure it'll be a great fight."

"I'll tell you all about it!" Garuki shouted behind me.

I guided Kimi down the stairs and through another passageway, into the room labeled "Chuunin Exam Temporary Hospital." The medical ninjas were very busy, tending not only to Nodin, but Taji-san, Hisa-chan, and the two Sand ninjas as well.

Sumi and Yousuke sat two to a bed on the left side of the room, feet dangling over the edge as they were examined by one doctor apiece. They didn't act much like teammates, though, if you ask me – not a word was said between the two, regarding their matches, or the status of their injuries. Sumi looked a combination of smug and disgusted, and it occurred to me that she was likely still upset over Yousuke's loss.

_Come to think of it, he looks a little nervous to have her sitting there._

I wouldn't have traded places with that boy for anything in the world.

"Nodin!" Kimi cried, spotting a curtained-off area in the back of the room with just a few too many medical ninjas swarming around it. She took a few quick steps toward the area before a nurse took her gently by the hand and led her away.

"I'm sorry, dear, but you can't go back there quite yet. That's the intensive care section."

"No!" Kimi wailed. "Kwahu-kun!"

The nurse led her to a comfortable chair near the front of the room, and I followed, taking a seat beside them.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but Cheveyo-kun is Kimi-chan's teammate…" I began.

"Ah, of course. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Some water might be nice," I said, eyeing Kimi, whose crying had caused hiccups.

"Right away." The nurse disappeared behind a counter and returned with a paper cup full of water for Kimi, who sipped it timidly.

"Thanks," I said. "Is there any way you could tell us how he's doing? I mean, I know he just got here, but…"

"Of course," the nurse said. "There was quite a bit of damage, as I'm sure you could tell. But it seems he took some medication that slowed the decay process and began to heal his injuries."

"The herbs!" Kimi looked up from behind the water cup, eyes glowing with a bit of hope.

"Yes. He took them at just the right time; they began to work just as that girl really attacked him, and it probably saved his life."

"Thank goodness." Kimi's shoulders relaxed just a little.

A doctor spotted us and walked over. "The Snow boy will live," he said, and Kimi and I cheered. Across the room, Sumi rolled her eyes and then looked away, uninterested.

"The damage to his ankle and shoulder was rather extensive, and though not as badly as we expected, his heart tissue was also damaged. He'll live," he repeated, "but his recovery will be a slow one. We did what we could to speed him along, but the rest will have to be accomplished back in Snow Village, in a rehab program."

Kimi and I nodded. "Thank you."

"Would you like to see him? We've got him stabilized."

The two of us followed the doctor to the back of the room, and he held the curtain open for us with one hand. Cheveyo-kun turned his head to see us, eyes pained. After a long pause, he spoke.

"I lost."

"You lived," Kimi said, approaching the bed and taking his uninjured hand.

"I…lived," he replied, and smiled slightly.

"Hotaru! Kimi!" Garuki erupted into the room, burst past all the shocked doctors and nurses, and rushed to my side. "You guys have got to come quick!"

"What's going on?" I asked. "Is the fight over already?"

Garuki put his hands on his knees, breathless. "Just finished. They announced the next fighters!"

"Who are they? Any of ours?" I asked, bewildered by his urgency.

"No. It's the third Sand kid, Manzo, and the diamond-sword guy from the Forest!"

I blinked. "So?"

"So think about it!" he said. "That means there are only two fighters left after this!!"

I paused, but it was Kimi who reached the right conclusion first, turning sharply on Garuki with her eyes wide.

"Katana and Koori."


	9. Snow Showdown: The Ice That Never Melts

Chapter 9 – Snow Showdown: The Ice that Never Melts

Chapter 9 – Snow Showdown: The Ice that Never Melts

The three of us rushed back through the hallway and up the stairs to the balcony, where the members of the delegation of Hidden Snow stood in disarray. Sutiibu-sensei stood in front of Katana, facing Koori but with one restraining hand on her shoulder. Katana, in turn, was also glaring in the direction of Koori, currently being physically restrained by both Dai-san and the Yukikage, fighting to get out of their grip. Kimi and I broke ranks and rushed to our respective teammates; Garuki just stood in place, looking back and forth between the two helplessly.

Sutiibu had been speaking to Katana in hushed tones; so quiet, in fact, that I didn't even realize he had been speaking until I was standing right at his side. I caught only the tail end of the conversation.

"…because such lack of control over emotions can only get in his way. Do you hear me? It's just a fight, against an enemy ninja, like any other day."

"Yes, sir," Katana said between gritted teeth, her eyes still on the pale-haired boy.

"No problem…just like any other day…"

Following their eyes, I watched Koori, who had clearly been the more militant of the two while I was downstairs. However, even as I watched, he took a deep breath, relaxed, and stood tall, dropping his fighting stance. Dai-san and Kimi were both talking to him, and it seemed to help; the Yukikage, seeing him more in control, stepped back and took her place back at the railing.

The two Snow ninjas stood a moment longer, facing each other and without a word. Then finally, Koori spoke.

"Well…it's about time."

Katana said nothing, and Koori snorted and turned away.

_All this because she didn't prevent some ninja from killing his teammate way back when?_ I wondered. Not sure what to say to either of them that would be of any help, I instead moved to the railing by Yukiko-san. Manzo, the remaining boy from Sand, was squared off against the familiar-looking samurai ninja, Oiwa Kentaro. To my surprise, the fight seemed to be going very seriously in Kentaro's favor.

"I guess Sumi-san really was the power behind her team," I said.

"Just as three strong ninjas may yet be a weak team," the Yukikage replied, "one strong ninja can occasionally make a poor team stronger."

I nodded, and watched as Manzo, strong but defenseless without his companions, was run through effortlessly by Kentaro's sword. The match was called; Manzo would probably live, but his injuries weren't pretty. It was my guess that Kentaro-san had intentionally gone easy on him.

"I guess only one Sand will get through to the next round after all," said Garuki, standing a little behind me.

"Nothing is decided yet," Yukiko-san said. Both of us looked at her, but she didn't say any more.

Katana glanced once more at Koori, then strode through the nearest door to the stairwell. Koori hesitated, glared after her, and took the long way around the balcony to avoid entering the arena floor through the same door.

Sutiibu-sensei sighed and made room for himself against the balcony, looking down as the two of them entered the floor. They both moved calmly, defiantly; they were shockingly quiet, compared to any of the previous competitors, saying not a word to each other. The energy, though…the deadly energy could be felt even where I stood.

"I know this feeling…" I said to no one in particular, although it was Kimi who looked up in response. "This is the feeling when two enemy Jounin fight."

"The killing intent," Kimi said.

"They plan to fight to the death."

"Most likely."

"I won't let it happen," Yukiko-sama interrupted, but I wondered if she could prevent such a thing, given the circumstances.

Kimi eyed me. "You know I have to root for Koori-san, right?"

"I know."

"You won't be angry at me?"

"No."

"Good."

The air grew icy. At first I wondered if it was just that palpable tension in the air as two members of the same village took the floor for the first time that day. But as I watched Koori, all silver and pale white from his hair to his boots, a shiver ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature. He had only taken a step or two to place himself outside of Katana's immediate range; but even though I hadn't seen the movement, I knew.

"He's already performed some sort of ninjutsu, hasn't he?"

Kimi said nothing. On the other side of me, Garuki pulled his hoodie up over his head. "Must be. I can feel it right through my Chakra Warmth no Jutsu."

I watched the two fighters stalk each other, taking a few steps one way, or the other, or bluffing before just standing still. Suddenly, Katana saw an opening, and with an almost lazy motion tossed a series of shuriken at the boy. He smirked, made a hand seal, and blew a deep breath out in the direction of projectiles.

"Fuyuno Ice Breath."

"The move that turns water into ice? But there's no water…" I mused.

To my surprise, a thin but solid sheet of ice appeared in front of Koori, blocking all of Katana's weapons before crashing to the ground and shattering. Koori was rooted in place now, grinning.

"There's plenty of moisture…in the air," Kimi mumbled.

I rounded on her. "Not nearly enough to create such a solid wall!"

She looked at me. "It is if you're Koori-san."

Back on the floor, Katana was frowning ever so slightly. Then she whipped into motion, biting her thumb and running the blood along the summoning tattoo on the back of her left hand, then moving effortlessly into a series of hand signals.

"Needle Storm Variation: Slicing Hail."

This time the weapons, every small, bladed weapon imaginable, shot from the air in every direction and charged straight at Koori. He laughed, spun, and blew out his ice-cold breath, creating a dome of ice around him.

The weapons, of course, fell to the ground once again, harmless. Katana still said nothing, but her eyes were wide. She didn't have time to think it over, though; Koori exploded through his own ice dome, sending shatters of ice in every direction. Katana was fast, faster than me on an average day, but even she couldn't dodge every one of the sharp projectiles.

The ice lay in pieces on the ground, slowly melting into a myriad of puddles. The few around Katana's feet were stained red as drops of blood rolled off of her shoulder.

"When did…" she said.

"When, what?" Koori taunted, almost hungry look in his pale blue eyes. "When did I get so strong? What, did you really think I wouldn't improve at all in two years?"

"I was just going ask when you learned to do that move without water around," Katana spat. "Don't flatter yourself."

"It's a clan technique: the ability to draw water out of the air and condense it quickly into a useful amount." I spotted the hand seals this time, too blurred to make out. _He's fast!_ In front of him, a ball of water appeared, hung for a moment in the air, and he caught it in his cupped hands. "Fuyuno Clan members only. I've been working on it since I was five."

"And you only learned to do it in the last two years?" Katana smirked.

Koori laughed, tossed the water in Katana's direction, and blew at it. She barely dodged the needle-like shards. "You can taunt all you want," he said, "but you haven't even scratched me yet. Meanwhile…" He eyed her bloodstained clothing.

Katana summoned her kama and charged, one in each hand. Koori placed up a barrier of ice which she easily crashed through using the blades and her entire body weight. She closed on him, too close for his breath to have time to create a solid barrier. He saw her coming and dodged to the side, putting as much space as possible between himself and his opponent.

"Quit running away, if you're so strong!" Katana shouted after him, running at him again the moment he stopped moving. But this time as she closed, he stomped one foot in a puddle on the floor in front of him and blew, sending ice daggers straight at her. One slashed across her face. She hesitated for just a moment, long enough to wipe the blood from her eyes, but it was all the time Koori needed; he used his clan ability to gather a large amount of water near the ceiling above Katana's head, and turned it into a deadly ice stalactite, falling toward her at incredible speed.

"Nee-san!" Garuki and I both cried out at once. Katana heard and looked up. In one motion she moved to the side, summoned, and threw a giant shadow shuriken swerving towards the icicle. Her dodge was ineffective due to the size of the falling projectile, but the giant shuriken managed to knock it off course, and it crashed to the ground not far from her.

Shaken, she looked toward Koori. He stood, pleased, just out of her immediate reach, not far from the gigantic cactus, the remnant from Garuki's fight with Yousuke.

"It can't be…you can't have improved this much…"

"Believe it," he said.

"Koori-san graduated 17th in his class from the Academy," Kimi spoke quietly beside me. "I was the top of the class, and Tarou-kun was near the bottom. Koori was really pretty average. It's no wonder your Katana is surprised. He's changed a lot since the first exam."

"What happened?" I asked my young friend.

"He found purpose."

Katana was still out of breath, startled from the near-deadly attack and staring down her opponent.

"In that first exam, when Tarou-san was killed, I couldn't protect him. I was weak!" Koori spat, though I was uncertain if he was more disgusted with Katana or himself. "Well, no more! I've waited and worked for two years so that when the time came, I could avenge him."

"There will be no avenging here today," Katana said, and stood; we had been on a team long enough that I could tell from her body language when she had an idea, when she was readying for an attack. "Tarou's death was unfortunate, but his killer isn't here. Nor would you have any right…"

"Don't tell me what I can or can't do!" Koori shouted.

Katana took the opportunity and shot several kunai towards her opponent.

"Again?" I sighed from the balcony. "You'd think she'd know by now that he'll just block the attack…" But beside me, Kimi's eyes grew wide. I turned back, wondering what I wasn't seeing.

Sure enough, the ice barrier went up and the kunai hit it, clanking to the ground. But before the barrier had time to fall, Katana must have realized, Koori would have a blind spot to his front. She had sent shuriken, with wires trailing, spinning straight at him and then around. When she pulled on the ends of the wires still in her hands, Koori was drawn backwards, wrapped in the wires – straight into Yousuke's cactus. He cried out as the wires pulled tighter, drawing the many thick cactus needles further into his back and limbs.

"Koori…" Kimi said. The whole fight seemed to have subdued her usually vibrant personality, but it was no wonder, with all this talk of her dead teammate and the killing intent of the ninjas still thick in the air.

"He couldn't have seen the wires…"

"He should have suspected." Yukiko-sama entered the debate, much to my surprise. "A ninja must always know his or her own weaknesses, especially the weaknesses of any favored techniques, and plan for those weaknesses to be used against them." She smiled at me, and whispered, "That was a good move on Katana-san's part," into my ear so that Kimi could not overhear.

On the floor, Koori was still writhing uncomfortably within the wires, and Katana seemed to be considering the best way to finish him off. She almost didn't notice when he used his foot to splash a puddle again, sending more ice shards her way, but ducked just in time.

"I won't give up that easily!"

"That's a troublesome technique," she murmured. "We'll deal with that first."

Katana made a series of hand seals that, though quick, I had come to recognize as one of her famous personally-created genjutsu crosses. "Dance of the Seven Veils," she said. A red cloth shrouded Koori's head, and he stopped moving, trying to use his other senses to decipher what was happening. I knew the rest of the genjutsu though; Katana had tried it out on me more than once in practice. Vision was not the only sense cut off by Katana's veil – all but touch were numbed.

Katana was about to pull out the shadow shuriken used in the weapons attack grouped with this particular genjutsu. I prayed she wasn't planning on using it at full power; it was a beheading technique.

"Traitor," came Koori's icy, determined voice even through the genjutsu.

Katana halted.

"I'm no traitor…" she said. Her voice shook.

"Traitor," he said again, as if he knew her response even though he couldn't hear it. "It's your fault he died."

"Blame yourself!" she shot back, shaken.

"It's your fault!" He said again, shaking with rage even though his dampened senses had cut him off from sight or sound of Katana. "I can't be blamed. Tarou was weak, and I was weak; too weak to save him! Kimi was injured, it's not her fault! But you – you, the strongest in your year – and you just watched as your teammate killed a member of your own village!" I could hear the tears now. "You let Roka kill him!"

Katana staggered, pulled back a step, and fell shaking to her knees. "He…he was my teammate…and Mashiro-kun was…it was self-defense…and I had to support that decision…"

"Liar!" Koori screamed. The genjutsu dropped as Katana lost her concentration, and Koori, senses free, burst out of the wires' grip. "You could have stopped it, but you were just scared, scared of your own teammate and ashamed that he was stronger than you, and you _let Roka kill him!_"

Katana tried to stand and defend herself, but Koori solidified the puddle beneath her and she slipped on the ice and fell. He jumped her, pulled out a kunai, and drove it at her neck. Seven Jounin appeared from nowhere and held Koori back.

"The winner is Fuyuno Koori," Shikamaru proclaimed from the sidelines.

Koori was still fighting to get out of the grip of the older ninjas. "Let me go, for crying out loud! I wasn't going to kill her or anything."

"Whatever you say, kid."

Katana propped herself up on one elbow and looked at the boy dressed all in white, staring icily back at her. "Maybe it's true," she said, in a shaky and most un-Katana-like voice. "Maybe it's true, that I could have saved him, and I didn't. Maybe the both of us share some blame for what happened; maybe it's Roka's fault; and maybe it's nobody's fault at all. But how would you killing me have made anything better?"

Koori merely glared ice daggers through her.

Nee-san was helped to her feet by a medical nin, but waved them off, pulling out her own package of medical gear and tearing off a piece of bandage as she disappeared into one of the stairwells.

Stunned by the entire fight that had taken place before my eyes, I turned to Kimi first. When she didn't look at me or respond, I looked to Yukiko-sama instead.

"Is…is that really true? During Katana's first exam, when Kimi's teammate Tarou was killed…it was Katana's teammate that killed him?"

"Yes," the Yukikage stated, a deep sadness weighing down the word. "A Snow Nin was responsible for the death of another Snow nin. It was one of the darkest hours in the history of our village…and especially in children so young."

"But…how?"

"Kimi told you the story, did she not?" Yukiko-san asked.

"She didn't tell me it was Sutiibu-sensei's team." It was only then that I thought to look over to my master.

He looked back at me with tired eyes. "Katana's team, my original Team Nine, they were a special group. The Yukikage, working with a small village, decided to try a new way of arranging Genin that year. She put people of the same ability level in the same group; that way, missions could be assigned more easily by skill level."

"Nee-san was the number one rookie that year, right?" Garuki asked. Everyone was listening now.

"Yes; Team Nine held three of the best Genin in the class: Takeyoshi Katana, Kitahara Mashiro, and Kado Roka. Mashiro-kun was laid back and took life as it came, but Roka was ambitious, and always resented that Katana finished Academy at a higher rank than him. He was about a month older than the others, and liked to throw it around. By the time they took the Chuunin Exam, two years later, he had established himself as the leader of the group. And although Katana put up some resistance…"

"I can imagine," I put in.

"…in the end, I believe she was a bit afraid of Roka-kun, and in a pinch would yield to his decisions. In the woods that day, during the second exam, Team Nine had only two hours left and badly needed their second scroll."

"That's when they came upon us," Kimi said. "They caught us by surprise."

"Mashiro-kun was very skilled at stealth techniques," my sensei mused. "Anyway, the rookie Team Two stood no chance against the aged Team Nine, the three best ninjas of their year."

"But when Koori and I were injured and wanted to give up the scroll, Tarou-kun refused. And he tried to protect both us and the scroll by using his best technique on Roka-san."

"Tarou-kun always was a bit stubborn," Dai-sensei said, reminding me that she had been his sensei too.

"And Roka was always a bit too quick to anger," came the quiet voice of Katana from the stairwell. She walked into the center of our group, and looked at Kimi and Dai-sensei. "He wanted that scroll more than anything else. He was being rough with you guys, and Mashiro and I could only watch when Tarou charged so pointlessly like that…" She hung her head. "He was right to protect us, just as Tarou-san was protecting you. But he shouldn't have killed him. Kimi-san, Dai-sensei, I apologize for my teammate, since he could never bring himself low enough to admit he was wrong."

"It's not your fault," Kimi said. "It's not anyone's fault, I think…"

"Sensei," I asked. "Mashiro and Roka both passed the Exam, right?" He nodded and I turned to the Yukikage. "But why did you pass Roka, when he killed a fellow Snow Nin? I don't understand…"

"Don't think it was an easy decision, Hotaru-chan," she said. "But in the end, we decided Roka acted in defense of himself and his teammates, and we had to respect the fact that he let nothing get in the way of protecting his teammates or his mission."

_I see what she means, but that just seems wrong._ To my right, Garuki also looked a bit queasy. The Yukikage smiled at us. "Apparently the ethics of the younger generation have evolved some."

Just then, Shikamaru-san moved to the center of the ring below. I had forgotten; the matches were over.

"Attention, please. How troublesome…" he muttered, and waited for the din to quiet down. "As you know, the preliminary matches are now over. However, you may have forgotten the terms of this exam. We stated earlier that because your Jounin and the Examiners will have their say in your promotion, we felt your village leaders should have a say too."

"He's right," I muttered to Garuki. "I forgot about that."

"I wonder what he means," Garuki said.

"So, we allowed your village leaders to watch you fight. Unbeknownst to you, they have been evaluating your performances. It's troublesome, but whether you won or lost has no bearing on if you will progress to the next round."

The stadium was in an uproar.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I cried. Similar exclamations could be heard all around.

"Of course we couldn't tell you that before, because we needed you to fight your best. However, you will now proceed to meetings with your respective village leaders, and in the end, only their approval will determine if you shall pass to the next round."

It took nearly a half an hour for us to be herded into a small room to stand for the meeting, because Koori was still being bandaged, and Nodin had to be approved for transfer from the hospital wing. Eventually, though, Nodin sat and the rest of us stood before our Yukikage. She looked us over.

"First, please allow me to say how proud I am of you all. This is the most excellent crop of Genin we have had in many years; to think that Snow Village had more contestants in the Preliminary Rounds than any other village is hardly believable. Your ability speaks to the growing power of Hidden Snow, and I am pleased to have you as its representatives."

All of us except Nodin bowed politely; Nodin nodded his head, carefully.

"However, the Final Rounds will be watched by all the villages, and all of our potential clients, and I can only have the very best participate. Clearly, if I do not feel you ready for Chuunin rank, I will not allow you to progress any further; even though strength in numbers would be impressive, to allow weak or ill-prepared fighters into the Finals would be disastrous."

"We understand, Yukikage-sama," said all of us at once.

"Now," she looked to the end of the line, where Nodin's wheelchair sat. "I suppose we shall begin with you, Cheveyo Nodin. Your tracking skills, stealth, and healing abilities proved very valuable to your teammates in the forest, and there is no doubt that you make an excellent team player. However, even if you were not so critically wounded, I would not be able to recommend you for the Final Rounds. You are still inexperienced compared to your teammates, and have much work to do solidifying your techniques and working on strategy. However," she added, "I expect great work from you in the future, Cheveyo-kun; make no mistake about it. I will have much in the way of praise to convey to your mother when next we speak."

Nodin beamed, apparently expecting as much. Yukikage switched her glance to Garuki, who was next in line.

"Mikata Garuki…grandson of Mikata Titi, one of the best old ninjas I could have hoped for as support during the war years." The Yukikage smiled. "Certainly you have a lot to live up to with a family name like that. I will admit that, as I watched you throughout your Genin years and throughout this exam, I have been very impressed by your growth. You have learned courage and become less naïve, and your techniques are unarguably strong. After watching you fight that clever Sand Genin, there is no doubt in my mind that you deserve to move on to the Finals, based on those criteria."

"Thanks!" Garuki said, grinning.

"I should warn you, however…Chuunin are squad leaders, more often than not. While you have the intelligence to pull off the job, I believe, you have not shown leadership within your own team. If you want to pass the Final Exam, you had best keep that in mind."

"Hai, Yukikage-sama."

"Next…Kimi-chan. My darling Kimi," the Yukikage began. "The last time you were at this Exam, you were only just barely ten years old…younger than the average Academy graduate by years. And you are still so young."

Kimi eyed the floor.

"I hesitate to even consider placing a 12-year-old in the position of squad leader, Chuunin…a rank of those sent on more dangerous missions…so much expected of you. Although you and Koori work so very well as a team, I also cannot ignore the fact that he is the obvious leader, despite your much higher class rank. And, you are my little sister. I hate to see you in danger."

"That's not fair!" Kimi pouted.

"Exactly. It is behavior like that…however, you performed with excellence as a ninja in your first exam, and even more so this time around. You may be my little sister…but you have the advantages of that as well. I see my skill in you."

Kimi shut up, and listened quietly to her sister.

"Because of that, I am willing to give you a chance. Prove to me, like Garuki, that you are ready for Chuunin rank. You pass the Preliminaries."

I was so busy cheering inwardly for my new companion that I didn't notice right away when the Yukikage's glance shifted to me. When I saw her serious countenance staring back at me, though, I cowered a bit and took a deep breath.

"Hotaru-san. You entered the Academy under unique circumstances, older than your classmates, and in the ways of the ninja, you have always been behind. While your written tests always outscored your friends, you showed yourself to be rash, unreliable, weak, and often a hazard to your teammates in the field. How many missions have I watched on from afar, wondering if you'd even come back?" She sighed, then thought a moment before continuing.

"Within the last year, I have watched you change. You found focus and determination; and while your abilities have not grown greatly, it seems that focus and determination were what you really needed all along. During this exam, I've watched what you are capable of when you truly apply yourself; you've shown intelligence under fire, capable leadership of your teammates in and out of battle, and improved understanding of your own abilities."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Not just sensei, but Yukikage too, recognizing how hard I've worked? Seeing some real change in me as a ninja?

"Your battle against the Hyuuga girl showed skill and determination, but mostly, it demonstrated to me that you will no longer let your own self-doubt defeat you. I would like to see what you can accomplish in the Finals."

"Thank you, Yukikage-sama," I said, bowing low. What I was really thinking was, _Yes!! I made it into the Finals! I made it!_ Followed shortly by, _What if I have to fight that Sand girl?_

_No. No more excuses,_ I decided. _Whoever it is, I'll win._

The Yukikage was now examining Katana and Koori simultaneously. "Takeyoshi Katana and Fuyuno Koori. I will admit I am not sure what to say to you two," she began. "I have seen both of you grow immensely within the past two years. Koori, your ninjutsu skill startles me, compared to your Academy days, and you clearly have the respect and deference of both your teammates. You show intense loyalty, as well as intelligence; all the qualities of a Chuunin."

She paused. "Katana, you have always had the skills. From the time you entered Academy, it was clear you would leave at the top of your class. When forming Sutiibu's special team, there was no question you would be on it. I have never had any problem knowing that my younger brother was instructing you in our clan techniques. You have a kind of brilliance with technique creation that is rare. And, finally, with this new team of Hotaru and Garuki, I have seen you transform from selfish competitor who used a cocky attitude to cover up self-doubt, into a caring and intelligent leader."

_That's our nee-san,_ I thought. _There's a reason we call her "sister."_

"However." Yukikage-sama's voice became hard. "Koori-san, today I watched you lose yourself in revenge. Not only was that revenge reckless, it was not even directed at the proper person! And I want you to carefully consider, before you say anything, that you were about to kill a fellow Snow Ninja, and not in self-defense. This is a crime that would have made you even lower than the person you so hate – Kado Roka."

Koori stared her down.

"Still, even amongst all the rage you felt, you never lost control over your techniques; in the end, the focus that has guided your training so well even allowed you to break free of your opponent's genjutsu and gave you the upper hand. Focus under fire is a valuable ninja trait." The Yukikage speech was speeding up as she neared the end, eyeing both the remaining ninjas. "Katana, on the other hand, broke under pressure. When her ethics – ethics that were perfectly solid, I may add – were called into question, she began to question them herself, and faltered. Katana, you were unable to defeat Koori, someone whose power I consider easily within your grasp. Your abilities have been at Chuunin level for years, but your emotions have apparently still not quite caught up.

"Hotaru, Kimi, Garuki, and Koori: please proceed to the main stadium floor to meet with the Examiner; you are the four who will represent Snow in the Final Rounds."

And so it was that Takeyoshi Katana, Number One Rookie of her year, failed her second Chuunin Exam.

The four of us who were to participate in the Final Exam reported to Shikamaru-san back in the main stadium. There were eight of us remaining, less than half of those who entered the Preliminary Rounds: me, Garuki, Kimi, and Koori of Snow; Sand's Ueki Sumi; Rain's Furuzawa Keiji; Konoha's Tenten; and Grass's Oiwa Kentaro.

Shikamaru explained what most of us already knew about the Final Exam: that it would be held tournament-style; that winning wouldn't guarantee you Chuunin status and losing wouldn't prevent it, but that Chuunin status would be based on performance, so the further we got in the rounds the better chance to show our ability; that all the village leaders, important people, clients of villages and diplomats would be present; and that it would take place in one month's time.

"Now, please reach into this bag and draw a number."

We did, and a Chuunin helper looked at our numbers and scribbled names onto a large board. When he turned the board around, it looked like this:

Fight 1

Yoruhana Hotaru--

Furuzawa Keiji --winner of 1--

Winner of

Fight 2 1 vs 2--Final Round

Fuyuno Koori --winner of 2--

Mikata Garuki--

Fight 3

Ueki Sumi--

Ginkaze Kimi--winner of 3--

Winner of--Final Round

Fight 4 3 vs 4

Oiwa Kentaro--winner of 4--

Tenten--

"Furuzawa Keiji, ka?" I said, memorizing the bracket as fast as I could before they took it down and we walked out of the building. "Okay then. Bring it on."


	10. Reunions of Blood and Heart

Chapter 10 – Reunions of Blood and Heart

Chapter 10 – Reunions of Blood and Heart

Garuki, Kimi and I walked together out of the tournament complex, where a Jounin used a ninjutsu to transport us to the edge of the forest of death. Koori arrived not far behind us, but hung back from us as we walked.

"Wow, Kimi-san, you sure got some bad luck," Garuki said, referring to her first-round draw: Sand's Ueki Sumi.

Kimi shrugged. "Somebody had to get her. Anyway, those needles she uses will be useless against me, and I've got a month to come up with a plan to deal with the rest of her. I'd be more worried about Garuki-kun…not that you aren't good or anything," she added hastily.

"It's true that Koori-san still seems pretty angry," I said with lowered voice, peering over my shoulder at the brooding pale boy. He was walking with both hands in his oversized white jacket, watching us.

"I'll do what I can to calm him down," Kimi said. "After all, I want him to win, but that doesn't mean I want either of you guys to die. Still, I won't get to see very much of him for the next month."

"Why not? Won't you be training together every day?"

Kimi looked at me, shocked. "Training with him? We could meet in the Finals, you know! It would be really awkward if we trained together and knew all of each other's moves. Of course we'll be training separately. In fact, we probably won't even eat together on breaks." Kimi stopped, looking off amongst the buildings of the city of Konoha, of which we had just reached the outer edge. "There's Dai-sensei, I'd better go." She turned and looked at me. "Good luck, Hotaru-san. I'm sure you'll do well!" And off she went. Koori gave us a dark look as he passed, plodding after her.

That was the first time it occurred to me.

"She's right. We may have to fight other Snow ninjas, just like nee-san and Koori did."

"Not only that," came the voice of my sensei as he appeared from nowhere beside us. "You will have to fight Garuki-kun, when you pass the first round."

Garuki and I stopped walking, looked at our sensei, and then at each other.

I flashed back to what Katana said, the first night we met Dai-sensei and Team 2, about not making friends during the exam because they only proved to be a liability. I saw what she meant now; I could fight Garuki, or Kimi-chan…or both. And there could be no holding back.

Of course, I was getting ahead of myself. First I had to make it past the first round.

My friend and I said nothing, but seemed to reach the same conclusion at the same time, and I reached out to shake his hand with a firm smile. "I look forward to it. Good luck, and you better not take it easy on me."

"I'll apologize ahead of time so we won't have to worry when we're fighting," he said, smiling back. Then he looked at Sutiibu-sensei. "Sensei, about what Kimi was just saying. If Hotaru and I may fight, we shouldn't be training together, right?"

"Of course not," Sutiibu replied.

"But there's only one of you," I said. "And I'm sure Garuki doesn't want to train alone any more than I do."

"There's nee-san…" Garuki mused.

"No, I'm afraid she doesn't fit either of your styles well enough," sensei said. "I've just spoken with her, actually, and I've arranged to have her work with Kimi-san most days. They should provide enough of a challenge for each other. I, meanwhile, will work with Garuki."

I was crestfallen and it must have shown.

"Now, now, Hotaru-san, you mustn't pout like that," my sensei said congenially. "After all I've got a special surprise for you. We've brought your trainers here all the way from Hidden Snow! Speaking of which, they should be arriving at the Front Gates right about now; why don't you go meet them?"

Curious, my feelings of abandonment were temporarily assuaged. "Umm, okay then," I said, turning down the main road of Konoha. I called back over my shoulder, "Hey, Garuki! Shall we meet for ramen at Ichiraku tonight?"

"I'm afraid I'll need Garuki through dinner tonight," Sutiibu said. "Lots to be accomplished if he's going to beat Koori, after all. However," he winked at me, "I'll allow the two of you to get breakfast together tomorrow if you want."

Garuki shrugged and nodded, and I waved to them both, taking my time to reach the Main Gate. I knew I should be elated that I had even reached the Finals, but I wasn't sure I liked this new training style.

The Main Gate into Konoha was a busy place that afternoon; people were coming and going in droves due to the Chuunin Exam. The sun was getting lower in the sky and left a red hue on the green leaves that lay just outside the gate. Inside, three guards were talking to a black-haired man whose back was turned to me; another watched the gate diligently; and there, among the crowd, were two faces I recognized.

"But, Nari! I don't see why we have to wait here when we could be eating at the new okonomiyaki shop!"

"Come on, Jomei, we only have to stay here until Hotaru arrives – oh, look, there she is! See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Jomei and Nariko waved at me as I approached, dumbfounded.

"You two! What are you doing here?"

"We're here to be your trainers, of course," Nariko smiled. "Well, at least I am. I'm not so sure about him." She jabbed a thumb in Jomei's direction.

Jomei's jaw dropped. "Trainers? _You_ said I was here to _take_ the exam!"

I stared at him for a moment, before readjusting to his Jomei-ness, then laughed. "You…you honestly thought you were here to take the exam? By yourself?"

"Well, sure! I'm a super great ninja after all!" he said, puffing out his chest.

"I never said that," Nariko put in.

"Yes you did!"

"No."

"Well…then why _am_ I here?"

"From the sound of it, Yukikage-sama wanted both of you to be Hotaru's trainers."

I looked over at the black-haired young man who had been speaking with the guards, and had interrupted our conversation. I found myself staring into eyes as deeply dark as my own.

"R….Ryuro! Onii-san!"

I burst past Nariko and Jomei and jumped into my elder brother's arms. We only got to see each other once or twice a year, most often, and during my last vacation period an emergency mission had prevented me from returning home. My brother was 18 now, an adult; I barely recognized him, towering over me, but his arms were comfortable like home.

"What, no hug for me?" Jomei whined. Nariko snorted, but smiled.

I let go of my brother and turned back to Jomei. "Sorry, Jomei, but the exam's over halfway completed now. Wait," I looked back at my brother. "Did you say Jomei's here to be my trainer?"

Nariko shrugged. "I thought he was just here as an extra escort for your brother. But I won't question Yukikage-sama's motives."

_Good point._ "But that still doesn't explain why Ryuro's here. I would have thought…with your history…" It was still a bit of a touchy subject, but my brother smiled.

"

I won't pretend it was easy to get clearance, but Yukikage-sama was very helpful. Anyway, it's not like I'd miss my baby sister's big ninja debut! I'm here to see you fight in the Finals!"

"But how did you know I'd even pass the first two tests?" I looked at my "trainers." "That goes for you two, also."

"Sutiibu-sensei called us about halfway through the Forest thing," Ryuro said. "Said he had a hunch and thought Nariko should come. I begged until they let me join the group; Jomei was, like we said, the Yukikage's addition."

_He called them…before we'd even left the forest? How did he know? How did he know Garuki and I would pass, and not Katana?..._

I decided I would never quite understand my sensei's brilliance.

"I take it that means you passed?" Nariko asked, eyebrow arched.

"Oh, yeah. Garuki and I both passed, along with two other Snow Genin."

"That's a pretty large turn out," Nari said. "What about Katana?"

"You might want to avoid her for awhile…Say, Nari, where's Rai?" She never went far without her hippo; he must be nearby.

"He went to check out restaurants. A few minutes ago he sent me a thought-message that there's this new okonomiyaki store that's opened up, and is having an all-you-can-eat special."

"Sounds delicious," said Ryuro. "We don't often get that kind of food in the colder climates…"

"I'm in," I said. "I'm starving…"

"This way."

We made our way down the streets, crowded with people searching for dinner. I saw a group from Hidden Rain at one of the ramen bars; after five day stint in a forest with nothing but fish to eat, I'm sure all of us were starved.

"So, Nari, where's Shiro anyway? I thought you guys always did missions together."

"I pushed him off a bridge and he fell into a cliff!" Jomei shouted.

"Yukikage said he wasn't needed, so he went on a mission with Juro-sensei," Nari answered without skipping a beat.

I laughed.

My brother was still staring at Jomei. "I still haven't quite gotten used to that."

"You never quite get used to Jomei," I told him. "You just start to learn when to ignore him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jomei pouted. "Anyway like I said, Shiro's fallen into a black abyss of DOOOOOOM!"

"...If you don't quit that I'll make a black abyss of Doom to push you into," Nariko said.

"…can she _do_ that?" asked Ryuro, eyeing her nervously.

I laughed. "Nari's got a pretty good bloodline limit, but so far she hasn't managed to create any black abysses of doom."

We rounded a corner, laughing. On our right was a district of wealthy-looking buildings, likely belonging to the great Clan Houses of Konoha. My left leg was aching, and suddenly I remembered something.

"Hey guys? Sorry, but I forgot I have a bit of an errand to run…can I meet you guys there in a bit?"

"Um, sure," Nariko said, examining my face. "Would you like us to order you anything?"

"Sure. I'll have the seafood version."

"No problem…see you later…"

They took off with out me, and as soon as they were out of sight I took an abrupt right-hand turn down the street full of walled mansions. I came to a stop before a white one labeled "Hyuuga" by a sign over the front gate. Inside was a lovely courtyard with ample practice space and some large willow trees for shade. A man with the same blank white eyes as Hinata and Neji was standing on the porch that enclosed the courtyard on three sides; I handed him the crumpled up piece of paper that the Medic Nin had given me at the Exam, and he pointed my way to the room of the Head of House, Hyuuga Hiyashi.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" the voice grumbled from behind the paper screen.

"My…my name is Yoruhana Hotaru, of Hidden Snow," I said, trying to sound like a competent ninja. "I believe you were informed I would be coming?"

"Ah, yes. Come in." The shadow behind the paper wall stood, and slid open the door. A gruff looking older man with long black hair and a hardened brow greeted me. Only then did I see Hinata sitting in the far corner of the room, which was bare except for the tatami floor and the chair in which she sat. She smiled slightly.

"Oh…I'm sorry to interrupt…"

"Not at all," Hiyashi-san said. "Now, if you could just have a seat in this chair here – Hinata will move, of course."

"That's not necessary, really…"

"It is."

"Really, it's no trouble," Hinata whispered, and she stood to make way for me. Her right arm was in a sling, and I eyed it warily while I sat. She followed my glance and smiled. "Oh, it's nothing…I'll be fine soon…"

"Mold your chakra please."

I did as the man said, moving it to my feet and hands as he wished, and performing a couple of simple jutsu so he could watch its flow.

"Hinata-chan certainly did a number on your upper leg tenketsu," Hiyashi said finally, standing. "But as long as you take it easy in training for a couple of days, you should be back to normal soon."

"And if I don't?"

He eyed me, then laughed. "Spoken like a true ninja. It's no wonder my daughter lost to you."

_Daughter? Hinata's the heir to the Hyuuga family…this family of geniuses…_

"However, you'd really best take it easy. Forcing it could cause lasting damage."

"Hai, understood, sir." I stood, allowing Hinata to reclaim the chair. "Thank you very much."

As I walked out the door, something compelled me to turn back. "Hiyashi-sama."

"Yes?"

"Please don't be disappointed in Hinata-sama. She performed very well today; I think I only beat her on accident, in fact…"

"That's not so…"

"I am not disappointed in her," Hiyashi said, smiling more kindly than I expected his gruff face would allow. "In fact, I'm proud."

Hinata blushed and shut her mouth.

"Good. Thank you, again." I bowed and took my leave, closing the sliding door behind me. As I turned to make my way across the courtyard, I found the violent visage of Hyuuga Neji staring back at me from less than three inches away. I squeaked in protest, then merely stared back at him, wide-eyed.

"Come with me," he growled through his teeth, and drug me along the porch, around a corner and in-between two of the Hyuuga Complex buildings.

"You would have killed her!" he hissed, shoving me firmly against a wall and holding me there with his bandaged right hand, reflection of my own. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking I had to fight back!" I said, breaking out of stunned silence and shoving him back away from me. "We're ninjas! It's what we do! We fight and fight, until one of us gives up or the other one dies. Hinata knows that, I know that, surely you know it too!"

"Hinata's not such a great fighter," Neji snarled, although he didn't touch me again. "There were a million ways to fight back. And of all things you use _that?_ Without even activating the eye jutsu? Forget Hinata, who would have died a very painful death of burning from the inside out if I hadn't stepped in – "

"Hold on. Did you say eye jutsu?"

Neji stopped his tirade and looked at me blankly.

"I said, did you say eye jutsu? What on earth are you talking about?"

Neji's arms dropped from a defensive position to hang at his side like a pair of deflated balloons. His temper seemed to have lost most of its hot air, as well.

"You don't know about the eye jutsu, do you?"

I shook my head.

"You don't even know about the Bloodline." He was muttering under his breath now, more to himself than me. "A hundred years and not a whisper of the clan, and one finally shows up, _with _the Bloodline, and she doesn't even have a clue what she's got? You!" He turned on me again, but I was too confused to respond with more than a blink. "Are you seriously telling me you know nothing of your clan's Bloodline Limits?"

"I didn't even know I had a clan," I said. "Wait…limits?"

Neji sighed, and for the second time that hour, grabbed my wrist and dragged me along behind him. "Look, I really shouldn't be doing this…but if you've got an active Bloodline that you don't know how to use, you need to be taught. It won't only be Hinata who's in danger, otherwise."

"Where are we going? I'm supposed to meet my friends for dinner – "

"It'll have to wait."

I wrested my hand free from Neji's, but followed obediently as he led me down a stairwell and into a basement room filled with chronicles, books and files, presumably the history of his Clan. He dusted off a pair of empty chairs, sat me down, grabbed a startlingly old book off of the shelves, and took a seat beside me.

"Have you ever noticed that your eyes aren't normal?" he began.

"What on earth…"

"No pupils, right? Just like mine."

_Come to think of it…I used to wonder about that when I was little, but onii-san just said it was because our eyes were so dark that you couldn't see them._

"So?"

"That's because your clan – yes, you have a clan," he added exasperatingly as I tried to protest, "your clan is in possession of a Bloodline Limit. An eye jutsu, sort of like mine. It's called Kokugan."

"Dark Eyes."

"That's right." He opened up the book to a faded page. It looked like a series of birth logs, from a very long time ago. "You've heard of the Hyuuga Head Family and Branch Family, right?"

I shook my head. "Not really."

"The short version: Only the first child born to the Head of House is allowed to continue the Head House bloodline; that's how we protect our bloodline ability and keep it pure. The other children and relatives become members of the Branch Family; their role is to protect the Head Family, and their bloodline is sealed off so that when they die, its secrets cannot be discovered."

It sounded sketchy, but I nodded.

"Hinata-sama is the heir right now, making her Head family. And because my father was her father's younger twin, I am a member of the Branch family."

"But you're so much better than her…"

He shook his head. "That's a tale for another day. What you need to know is, about twenty generations ago, a couple of the Branch Family members managed to escape having their Byakugan sealed, and stole away to marry out of the family. As a result, two separate clans were born." He pointed at the page in front of him, tracing two names from the birth records into separate family lines. " Neither was a full-blood Hyuuga clan, and so their children did not carry the Byakugan. However, the gene responsible for the Bloodline mutated, and each of the two clans developed their own unique Bloodlines."

"New…Bloodline limits?"

"Yes. These two families evolved over time to become powerful Konoha houses in their own right. They were the Uchiha clan, with their Sharingan eye, and the Yoruhana clan…with the Kokugan."

"Yoruhana…clan?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had a clan? A famous clan, from Konoha?

"Yes. Now, the Uchiha were proud, and sought to make and maintain their own reputation separate from us. But the Yoruhana clan maintained strong ties to the Branch Family for quite some time.

"I'm sure you've heard tales of the abilities of the Byakugan: 360 degree vision, vision at great distances and through solid objects, the ability to see chakra details as small as the tenketsu on a person's body, incredible insight from observing a person's face. Well, the Kokugan is a sad comparison, as far as that's concerned. It has only one ability – the ability to perceive chakra, even in trace amounts."

"Oh!" I remembered seeing flashes of Hinata's chakra during our fight, and waving off the fact that I shouldn't have been able to see it in such small amounts.

Neji nodded. "You are at the age now where your ability should certainly be available to you. Since you cannot control it yet, it's no surprise that it might work, although roughly, on its own from time to time."

"That doesn't explain the fire."

"Of course it doesn't. You're highly impatient."

"You're skirting around the subject."

He sighed. "As I was saying, the Yoruhana clan maintained strong, positive relations with the Branch Family for many years. But the Head Family would never have anything to do with them. They saw the Kokugan as highly inferior to the Byakugan and treated the Yoruhanas with disdain at first. Indeed, it might have been warranted, if not for the second Bloodline Limit that soon emerged within their veins: Hibana, or Chakra Spark."

He turned several pages, and I saw some hastily-scribbled notes titled "Byakugan Branch Jutsu." There were drawings and diagrams of chakra flow and hand seals; it was all far too overwhelming to comprehend at once. Neji watched my face and, seeing my confusion, went on to explain: "It is thought that the Hyuuga Branch Family member who first left the clan married into a clan which also had some rather unique blood. The result was a dual Bloodline: Kokugan Hibana. It is said that members of this clan are born with a special type of chakra, a chakra that can set normal chakra ablaze with a single thought, but will not burn itself."

My eyes widened as I began to understand. "I've felt it. That strange chakra…It mixes in with my normal chakra sometimes…"

Neji nodded, but his eyes were grim. "You've been ridiculously lucky. The Hibana bloodline limit is an exceedingly difficult one to learn, because it requires both the practiced use of the Kokugan's chakra sight and precise chakra control to function properly. You can't set fire to just any train of chakra present – the fire could spread to your allies, or you, if you can't see what you're doing. I say you've been lucky because it's amazing you haven't set fire to _yourself._ You must simply have been concentrating extra hard on projecting all of your chakra away from your body."

_That's right. Working with Nari, trying to attack others – I was pushing all my power away from me every time._

I understood, then. "Today, when Hinata…"

He nodded again. "That flame you sent at Hinata was composed of your own chakra. But had it reached her, while she was performing Hakke Rokujuu Yonshu, the Hibana would have ignited her chakra as well, and the flame would have entered her body through her tenketsu and burnt her from the inside out."

"I'm sorry."

"I was prepared to hate you…but you didn't know. I can't fault you for that. And anyway," he added, "if you had killed Hinata in such a fashion, you would have died too. From chakra exhaustion."

I shook my head. "I don't think there is any way I could learn something so complex on my own. I don't know how to make these eyes work any other way than normal, or anything aside from the most basic chakra control…in fact I have a really low chakra supply in the first place. I just can't do it myself."

"Then you should not use the ability."

"I…I wonder if the Yoruhana clan here in Konoha would teach me, even though I'm from another village?"

"The Yoruhana clan no longer exists in this village – or, so we thought, any other. You must be the only one left."

"Why? What happened to them?"

"You only need to know that it would not be wise to flaunt your abilities or your knowledge of them around this household, especially around the Head Family. Mention of the Yoruhana clan has been rare since they disappeared about a hundred years ago, and few people even remember them. But if you reawakened any of the elders' memories, I doubt you'd have an especially warm reception."

"Well then," I pressed, momentarily ignoring the way Neji was skirting around the disappearance of an entire clan, "is there anyone else who can help me, here? I shouldn't have to remind you that I have no control over this – this Hibana, right now. Unless I learn at least a little about it, how am I supposed to repress it?"

Neji examined me silently for a moment, before closing the book, returning it to the shelf, and pulling out another, very slim volume. "I can't let you look at this. As it is, if it's discovered that I brought you down here or told you anything, I could be tried for treason both by my clan and my village. But because I don't want you out there killing any of my fellow villagers…" He set the book down, scribbled on a piece of paper, and handed it to me. It showed a short series of hand seals, beginning with the Dragon seal, and a diagram of chakra molding. It wasn't too complex. I gave it a try.

"Kokugan."

Suddenly, my own body and that of my fellow ninja lit up with color. His chakra was blue, like normal, and I could see it flowing through his chakra systems clear as day even in the dark basement, even though he was doing nothing but standing. My own was blue as well, except for right in my center, where the tiniest hint of red chakra was harbored.

"There is no activation, aside from thought, for Hibana," Neji said, "as I'm sure you know by now. Theoretically, then, there is no way to 'turn it off.' But if you can monitor your own chakra with that Kokugan of yours, you should be able to keep it under control easier."

"Why do you have this information?" I asked, releasing the jutsu and returning to normal sight.

"I told you. The Branch Family and the Yoruhana clan had close ties for quite awhile. The training required for Hibana – chakra gathering and control exercises – are very similar to the types of training necessary for Juuken. The families trained together, many years ago. So we have here, in the Branch Family vault, a few notes on Kokugan Hibana."

"But you can't let me see what's in there?"

"No."

"Why not just tell me anything else that only relates to my clan?"

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because if we stay down here any longer, people will start to wonder where both of us are."

"Shoot! Dinner!" I had completely forgotten that Nariko, Jomei, Ryuro and Rai were waiting for me. "Thanks, I gotta go!" I took two hurried steps toward the door.

"Wait!"

I turned to look at the Konoha Chuunin with the white eyes more like my own than I had ever known before. "What?"

"Let me check. Byakugan!" His gaze went up the stairs, and likely further out, into the hallways and rooms of his family's mansion complex. "Okay. All clear. Goodbye, Yoruhana Hotaru." I left him there, replacing the books so that it appeared neither of us had ever been present.


	11. Interlude

Chapter 11 – Interlude

Chapter 11 – Interlude

Hurrying to the okonomiyaki shop where my friends were waiting, I tried to put the new information out of my mind. It didn't really change anything…okay, it changed everything, as far as my roots were concerned. As for my training regimen, however, it merely reinforced what I already knew; these bloodlines were out of question for use in the Finals.

Bloodlines. The word still twisted and shifted in my mind, like I couldn't decide where it belonged.

_Little matter. If it doesn't change my training, I shouldn't concern the others over it._

That in mind, I set my face to neutral and took a single step under the fabric door-cover into the new restaurant.

The scene which greeted me wouldn't allow anyone to remain neutral for long.

I don't think anything could have prepared Konoha village for Team 6…or at least Jomei and Rai. I quickly realized Rai's mistake in suggesting this new restaurant; it was one of those family joints with the burner right on your table, allowing you, with the help of ingredients from the cook, to make your own meal. By the time I arrived, Rai had clearly been on scene for at least half an hour, as evidenced by the piles of empty ingredient bowls and partly-cooked batter all over his grinning mouth. Jomei sat beside him, engaged in a heated debate with one of the waitresses, an imposing girl with a pink stripe in her hair, bearing down on him.

"What fun is it if I can't eat it my own way….Erynn-san?" I hear Jomei complain, scrutinizing the waitress's nametag.

"You can't eat that without cooking it! You'll get sick!" she responded.

"He's doing it!" Jomei countered, pointing at Rai. Rai's grin merely widened.

Another waitress, a slight, smiling girl with black hair and glasses, was busily balancing three more bowls in his direction. It fell upon her to mix Rai's batter and drip it onto the table's stove, since Rai was unable with his hippo feet. She poured a bowl and after waiting for the batter to sizzle only seconds, Rai dove his face at the stove and gobbled it up.

"Hey…that wasn't done!" the waitress said.

"See? Told ya!" input Jomei.

"Well, that…doesn't make it right," Erynn the waitress continued stubbornly. Just then Rai let out a yelp.

"Aaaack! I burnt my nose," Rai cried out, pouting.

Everyone laughed, the waitress with a degree of triumph. Jomei waited until the two waitresses left, gave a sideways glance at his ingredient bowl, and quickly poured it onto the stove…trying to be sure no one would see.

"I saw that!" came Erynn-san's voice from the kitchen.

"Aww man!"

I entered, still chuckling at the scene, and sat down beside Nariko and my brother, who thankfully were eating with all due normalcy. Nari was rubbing her nose uncomfortably.

"Good job, Rai. Now my nose is all red. Hotaru-chan, what took you so long? Here's your bowl, by the way. I managed to keep Rai away from it."

"Thanks." I took the bowl and poured the contents onto the grill, molding it into a pancake shape, thankful for the distraction. "I just got caught up at the Hyuuga house, that's all."

"Hyuuga?" Nari set down her fork and looked at me, eyebrow raised. "What on earth were you doing there?"

I squelched my initial reaction to tell her everything I had learned, and responded, "I fought Hinata in the prelims. I suppose it's time I fill you in on what happened, huh?"

"Are you kidding?" my brother put in. "I've been waiting for the rundown since before we even got here! You better not leave anything out."

So I told them what happened, every last detail from meeting Kimi's team on the way to Konoha to Koori's fight with Katana and the announcement of the line-up for the next round. "I fight Rain's Furuzawa Keiji-san first."

"That's the boy from the forest, right?" asked Ryuro.

"The one who crushed dart-kid's hands with that surprise head-on taijutsu attack," added Nariko.

"Right."

"Good," Nari said. "We can work with that. We start tomorrow."

"About that…" I said, taking the last bite of shrimp okonomiyaki, drenched in sauce. The story had taken me over a half hour to tell and by now even Rai was finished eating, dozing contentedly against the restaurant wall. "The head of the Hyuuga house says I should take it easy for a few days, until I'm fully recovered. She did a lot of internal damage to my legs. The chakra could back up in my legs if I try to use them too soon."

"No matter. I have other plans for your training."

"Oh?"

"You'll find out tomorrow."

"Sounds top secret," Ryuro said.

"To an extent, it is," Nariko replied. "We can't have anyone finding out about our training strategies before the exam. It would give them an advantage over Hotaru."

"True. But what about me?"

"Go ahead and sight-see around Konoha, onii-chan," I advised. "It's actually a pretty interesting place, what little I've seen of it."

"Sounds good. I'll report to you on all the interesting places. Anyway, I'd best be going."

"Make sure to take Jomei with you," Nariko added. "He's already lost the hotel room key three times today…"

"Gotcha. Hey…where _is_ Jomei?" Ryuro looked around the restaurant for Jomei, who was nowhere to be seen. All of us stood (except Rai, who was still snoring) and searched the restaurant. When we finally found Jomei, he was standing in the kitchen in a heated discussion with the two waitresses about the perfect color of badger.

"Jomei, it's time to go," Nariko stated, sighing. "How long have you been back here anyway?"

"Since the part in Hotaru's story about the written exam. It was so boring!"

Nariko sighed again. "You know, that information would have been helpful for you. You're the only one of our team who's not a Chuunin yet, you know."

"But….badgers!"

"Right, of course. Anyway, it's time to leave. Ryuro-san has the key for the room you're sharing. Good luck with that, by the way," she half-whispered to Ryuro.

"We'll be fine…I think."

Jomei waved to the waitresses as he walked out the door with my brother. "Bye, Erynn-chan! Bye, Sarah-chan! See you later!"

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong now, or what?" Nari stated dryly as she gave Rai a solid poke. He grumbled and opened one eye, then grumbled again and stood, and we quickly paid and made our way back to my hotel room, where the two of them were to stay with Katana and I. It was bound to be a bit crowded.

"What do you mean?" I finally responded.

"I mean okonomiyaki is your favorite food, and you only ate half of your serving. So what's up?"

"It's nothing…"

"I'm your trainer, Hotaru." She waited for me to elaborate.

And so, breaking down, I told Nari what I had been told.

"There is no way to train it?" she asked after I had finished the tale.

"A lifetime of potentially destructive practice?" I suggested.

"Right…point taken. In the end, I guess, it's good to know, but you're right when you say it doesn't change much. Maybe it'll give you an advantage – your opponents will probably expect you to use it after watching the prelims. But you'd best not use it at all."

"I know that," I snapped, perhaps a bit too harshly.

Nariko walked in silence for a few moments before she responded. "Look, I'm sorry you can't use it, too. Keep this in mind though: For a ninja to discover a lost Bloodline Limit _would_ normally mean a huge advantage, but only after a lengthy period of time. I'll be the first to tell you that most Bloodlines take years of training before they're fully functional."

"True," I said. "I didn't mean to take out that frustration on you, Nariko…"

"I know."

Darkness had begun to take over the streets of Konoha; and no surprise, considering all that had happened that day. It was strange to think I had started it out in the Forest of Death, still wondering if we'd make it safely to the tower in time. And here I was, with Nariko arrived as my trainer, preparing for the finals. For the first time that day I let myself really feel how exhausted I was, and wanted nothing more than sleep.

_But I can't rest just yet…there's so much to do._

"So, when do we start training tomorrow? 8 a.m.? Ten?"

"In four days."

"What? That's ridiculous! I need to start right away! Didn't you say we start tomorrow?"

"No," Nari explained patiently as we reached the hotel and held the doors open for the stumbling, half-asleep Rai. "_I _start your training tomorrow. You need to start once I have your training program ready. To start before then would only be wasting time."

"True, but…"

"Trust me, it'll be worth it," she said, leading the way up the stairs to the second floor. "Meanwhile, take the time to rest up. You _were_ told to rest up awhile, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I was."

Nari pulled out the keycard and swiped it, opening the door. Katana was already inside, asleep in her futon on the floor. I did a quick mental calculation and realized for the first time how very tiny hotel rooms were.

"Nari-chan…there's no way Rai's going to fit in there once our futons are out. Heck, we'll barely be able to fit ourselves."

Rai, eyes drooping even more than earlier, whimpered slightly.

"It's all right, Rai. You can go stay with Jomei and Ryuro-san down the hall. There's only the two of them in there. It'll be a bit less cramped."

"But I'll miss you!"

"Go, Rai. I'll see you tomorrow. Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi," he said, sulking off down the hallway.

"Would you two quit talking so loud and hurry up and get to bed?" came Katana's grumpy voice from beneath the top futon mattress. "You'd think you'd be just as tired as me."

"I am," I said, apologetically. Nari and I quickly entered and pulled out our futons, hopping into them.

"Nariko?" I whispered after a few moments of silence.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad to have you for a trainer."

"I'll do my best."

"Me too. Oyasumi," I said, rolling over and pulling the blanket over me.

"Oyasumi, Hotaru."


	12. Unexpected Genius

Chapter 12 – Unexpected Genius

Chapter 12 – Unexpected Genius

The morning of the Final Matches arrived like any other, sun filtering through our hotel window so early that sleep was made an unachievable luxury. Not that it mattered, considering how little I had slept that night in the first place. Seeing as laying awake in bed for another few hours would not have helped me in the least, I decided to head off to the practice grounds for a little last-minute preparation.

Unfortunately, Nariko was already awake.

"Where do you think you're going?" she hissed quietly my direction so as not to wake Katana.

"To practice," I said. "I still have a few hours before…"

"No way," Nariko replied, hoisting herself out of her futon and dressing quickly alongside me. "I thought you were smarter than that. You need to be conserving your chakra right now, not using it all right before the match. No more training for you. If you're nervous, let's go have a bite to eat at Ichiraku and relax over breakfast."

She was right, of course. We stopped by at the boys' room, but Jomei, Rai, and my brother were still fast asleep, Rai's snores echoing through the hallway. When we arrived at Ichiraku, however, we discovered that Nariko wasn't the only one to think of Ichiraku. Garuki and Kimi were already seated on stools, deep in conversation while waiting for their orders.

"Oh, hey there Hotaru-san!" Kimi waved enthusiastically, causing Garuki to turn in his seat and smile at me too. "Good to see ya. Ooooh, is that your trainer?"

Garuki and Kimi had been training almost non-stop, as had I; I'd seen Garuki a few times since the prelims, including the day Neji came to speak with us, but I hadn't seen Kimi for more than a few seconds at a time. Nariko and I sat down beside them.

"Kimi-chan, this is my trainer and one of my best friends, Hoshikiba Nariko. Nariko-chan, this is…"

"Ginkaze Kimi, I assume?"

Kimi beamed. "That's me."

"I'd introduce you to Rai, but he's still up with Jomei and my brother, sleeping."

Kimi's eyes grew wide. "You have a brother? He's here? Is he a ninja too? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

I shook my head. "He lives on my parents' farm," was all I said, without elaboration. I had forgotten Kimi was too young to have heard the story of my "Missing Nin brother," and I wasn't about to spread that prejudice any farther.

"Well, that's cool he could come see the match."

"Yeah." I ordered a simple, small chicken ramen and it came quickly. I glanced at my two fellow participants as I opened my chopsticks. "So, are you guys ready?"

"Of course I'm ready," said Garuki through a mouthful of beef ramen, although he was fidgeting in his seat and had turned a light shade of green. I knew he would come through when it mattered, though, so I didn't bother to point this out to him.

"Me too," said Kimi, sounding slightly more like she meant it. She smiled slyly, leaning in close. "I probably shouldn't tell you guys this since I'll have to fight one of you in the finals, but I've got an awesome new genjutsu."

"Cool," I said. "Although you don't know that one of us will make it to the finals." _And Garuki's far more likely than me,_ I added silently.

"You will. I just have a feeling. I'm sure I'll meet one of you there."

"I've got a lot of new stuff too," Garuki put in. "Sutiibu-sensei's been working me really hard, he's given me tons of new ideas. Of course, then there's the butterflies," he muttered at the end. I gave him a sideways glance. "Nothing," he added unconvincingly.

I watched him eat his ramen for a moment. Garuki had always been stronger than me; there was no debating that. Now, after Sutiibu-sensei had been doing nothing but working one-on-one with him for a month's time…

_There's no way. I can't beat him._

I stood up and pushed my stool in, leaving money on the table. "I should go."

Nariko, who had been strangely silent this whole time, looked over at me as if wondering what I was up to. "Where to? The matches aren't for a few hours yet."

"I'm not going to train, if that's what you mean."

"So?"

"I'm just going to relax some."_ Away from reminders of how strong my opponents will be._

"See you later, Hotaru!" Garuki waved at me with his chopsticks and smiled, and Kimi waved as well, mouth stuffed full of pork ramen.

"Yeah, guys. Later."

Several hours later in a deserted portion of "forest" within the confines of a Konoha practice area, I rose from meditative position and looked through the trees toward the sun.

It was time to head to the stadium.

I handed the key to the guard as I walked through the gate and headed to the middle of town. This stadium was different than the one in which we had held the prelims, and I wasn't sure quite what to expect from it. From the outside, all I could tell was that it was large, and from the sound of it, already packed. People were streaming toward the main entrance from every direction. I moved around toward the back of the building, on edge thinking about the huge number of spectators, looking for the sign labeling the competitor entranceway.

Moments later I found it, my brother and Jomei waiting underneath it. Ryuro gave me a huge smile and stepped towards me, embracing me.

"Good luck, little sis. You'll do great." He let go, and looked me warmly in the eye.  
I remembered, then, why I had become a ninja in the first place. I had sworn to protect others…sworn to protect my brother, by taking his place. I had decided to be the one to uphold the family's honor. And now my brother had come to watch me compete in front of thousands of people, in my best chance ever to do just that.

I had to win.

Even against Garuki.

No matter what.

"Nariko and Rai are saving us seats," Jomei said, stepping forward, " but they said to tell you good luck, and be careful."

"Thanks for coming down to see me off, guys."

"Oh, and this is from me…a little good luck charm," he said, forcing a piece of paper into my hand. Looking down on it, I saw a hand-drawn purple badger. It looked as if it had been drawn by a twelve year old.

"Wow, Jomei…it's…beautiful." I laughed, but gave him a hug as well. He beamed. The drawing was placed in my weapon pouch. "I'll make good use of it. And, onii-san..." I looked into his dark eyes, reminding me of our shared ancestral origin and the newfound bloodline inside of me. "I will make you proud."

"I'm sure you will, Hotaru-chan." He slapped me heartily on the back and pressed me toward the door. "You better hurry though. The others are already inside. We'll see you after the matches."

I waved as the two of them took off towards the main entrance, then walked through the door. Garuki and Kimi were chatting mildly just inside and smiled at my entrance, though I wasn't in a very talkative mood and chose not to join them. Koori seemed to share my antisocial feelings, posed alone against the back wall, eyeing Garuki with a particularly hateful glare. Clearly I wasn't the only one with my thoughts on my first match.

Speaking of my first match, Furuzawa Keiji, my opponent, stood across the room from me, near the doorway, looking eager. With him, not associating with each other in any way, were Sand's Ueki Sumi, Konoha's Tenten, and Grass's Oiwa Kentaro. We had all arrived.

A Konoha Jounin looked up at my entry and marked something down on a clipboard. "Good then. Are we all ready? As soon as we introduce you all to the audience, we will begin the first match. I believe that will be…" He glanced at his clipboard. "…Yoruhana Hotaru and Furuzawa Keiji. Mikata Garuki and Fuyuno Koori, you two are on deck."

Koori grunted. The rest of us just stood in anticipation.

The Jounin opened the door to the stadium. "My name is Shouji, by the way. I'll be your referee today. Now, if you'll all follow me, please?"

Shouji-san walked us out in a single file line to the center of the stadium, to roars of applause. He introduced each of us and our respective villages, then acknowledged our village leaders, who were watching from a box high above. The Yukikage smiled down at us, her pride reaching us even from such a distance. The box below them was filled of village Jounin and Chuunin – this time, it would be up to them who passed.

"A brief reminder of the rules," Shouji-san announced. "The fights are to be one-on-one, using whatever tools or skills you possess. They continue to the death, or until I order the fight ended, but keep in mind please – the moment I order it, the fight must end immediately, or there shall be severe consequences. The ninja who wins shall proceed to the next round; win or lose, though, the Jounin and Chuunin from your respective villages will be the ones to decide which of you is promoted. More wins gives you more chance to show off your skills, nothing more. Are we ready?"

Each of us nodded. I glanced sideways at Keiji-san. He was eying me as well. A tiny, confident smile crossed his lips.

"The first match, as stated in your programs, will be between Yoruhana Hotaru, representing Hidden Snow, and Furuzawa Keiji, representing Hidden Rain. You two," he said more quietly, speaking only to us now, "please take your places on those two marks. The rest of you, go ahead and make your way up to the waiting deck. You will be able to watch from there."

Garuki winked and smiled at me as he left. Soon, only Keiji, Shouji and I remained on the tournament floor.

"If you are ready…begin."

Keiji and I each took a brief moment to take in our surroundings. The floor was round, maybe 300 meters across, a suitably large field for any sort of battle. The ground itself was packed dirt; grass grew on it sporadically, no more than a few inches tall. To make the area as realistic as any normal open field near Konoha, a several trees had been planted, as well as some thicker bushes, along the periphery of the stadium. A particularly large section of these shrubs was to my right and rear.

I glanced around at all of this as quickly as possible, then turning to focus on Keiji, who had done the same. All of Nariko's training started to kick in. I readied a kunai, keeping my eye on Keiji at all times, trying to take in as much of the situation as I could.

His eyes were intelligent. He would clearly be doing the same.

_He's seen me fight, so he knows what to expect,_ I thought._ No. He's only seen me fight Hinata-san. He'll be expecting me to use longer range attacks, and he'll suspect I have a much greater advantage then I really do._

Sure enough, Keiji's was the first move, and it was a charge. He was trying to get inside.

_If I slow down,_ continued my strategic analysis as I parried his blow with my kunai, knocking him back, _he'll capture me in that swamp jutsu of his, and it's over. I can't get caught… _He attacked again, and I blocked and knocked him backwards once more with a kick to the stomach. _…and I can't run out of energy._

Keiji was obviously toying with me, trying to get a sense of my abilities inside. He may have seen me fight equally with Hinata, but Keiji's taijutsu style was far different – far more like mine. Soon his testing me was over, however; I saw his eyes squint in seriousness, and he came at me much faster than before. I blocked three strikes in a row aimed at my head, two punches to my stomach, and jumped over a low sweeping kick, but wasn't able to land a single attack either. We both backed up and kicked simultaneously, landing a blow on each other's left kidneys. Stalemate.

I noticed my breathing getting rougher. _Already… All this inside fighting is too tiring. If he keeps it up, I won't have any chakra left at all…_

My eyes grew wide. _Of course. I'm falling right into his trap!_

Keiji came at me again, using kunai to distract me as he reached in with his fists. Although I blocked them again it was closer this time; one of the kunai scratched me on the face as it passed and his fists missing me by centimeters, knocking open my equipment bag instead and sending a crumpled bit of paper flying.

Jomei's badger drawing landed on the ground, rolling behind Keiji, catching my eye and distracting me momentarily. It was just long enough for Keiji to land a light blow to my right hip. My mind raced through a million possible ways to escape the infighting as quickly as possible, none of them good enough, none of them probable, and Jomei's stupid badger had put me at a disadvantage…

_Jomei's badger._

I waited a half-second for Keiji's next charge, rushing in this time instead of blocking, and at the last moment forming the seal for a replacement jutsu. When I turned to look behind me from me new location, Keiji was facing away from me, launched fantastically in mid-air at what had been me only seconds before. Now, it was a crumpled piece of paper with a purple badger drawn poorly on one side.

Keiji fell to his hands and knees in the dirt, staring at the strange piece of paper wide-eyed. The crowd was cheering crazily as I charged Keiji from behind, preparing to knock him out. They must have felt I was at an advantage. My heart raced as I pulled back my fist.

_Gotcha._

Keiji turned, face still showing mild shock as he blocked my attack with such force that I stumbled backwards. His eyes shifted from surprise to frustrated anger, and he charged me again, faster than he had yet.

I used the replacement jutsu again, landing behind him, Jomei's piece of paper appearing to his front. I may have made it out of the way of his attack, but he knew to expect it this time, and turned much faster and with a good deal more poise than previously.

"Are you kidding? That won't work against me twice!" Keiji shouted, swerving right and left this time, trying to catch me off guard with his charge. The moment he saw me make the replacement jutsu seal, he spun around, not even waiting for me to disappear. This time, though, I wasn't standing in front of him.

"Where'd you go?" Keiji roared, looking around him.

There was nothing to see except for a stick by his feet.

The stick that had been my replacement.

I tried to catch my breath from behind the thickest clump of bushes, peering through the leaves at my momentarily confused opponent. This was no time to be cocky; it had been a close call. It could only be a minute or two at most before he'd figure out what happened, as there weren't many places to hide in this stadium.

_Crap. Crap! What do I do? We're equally matched inside and I can't fight him from a distance! If he tires me any more I'll be right where he wants me – too exhausted to move._

Nariko's situational training sped through my mind. I couldn't think of anything helpful, although I did remember being trapped in a corner at a distance once. That time when the Nari's fake wolves had cornered me.

_What did I do that time?  
_

…_nothing. We were interrupted, right after Jomei's crazy idea about attacking with a useless clone jutsu…_

I smiled suddenly.

Five seconds later, Keiji shouted out, "The stick! Tricky, but I found you now!" I expected him to come running my way from his spot across the stadium, but instead he formed a familiar seal. The ground beneath me became damp, and I took off out of the bushes, running in a zigzag fashion toward him, then around toward his backside. His concentration broken, the jutsu broke off, and he prepared to fight hand-to-hand once more. I was moving slower than before, though…far slower, and I was slowing more the longer time passed. Keiji noticed and threw a kunai my way. I rolled to dodge it, ending on my knees.

"It's about time," Keiji said, grinning maliciously and falling into an open-footed stance, forming the swamp jutsu seal. "I thought I'd never run you out of energy, no matter how small your pitiful chakra supply is. But finally you've been caught in my trap."

The water bubbled up from the ground and turned to thick muck, encasing my lower legs.

I couldn't have moved if I tried.

But I returned Keiji's smile. "I'm afraid it's you who's been caught in my trap, Furuzawa Keiji."

He merely laughed. He laughed so hard, in fact, that he didn't notice the gasp that came from the crowd until the kunai was on his neck.

My clone's kunai, that is. She was wrapped around him from behind, kunai ready to slit his throat.

"Wh…what??" Keiji stuttered, mouth open. He was shaking subtly, I could see, though his gaze held steadily at me.

It had to. Otherwise, his jutsu would dispel.

_Thank goodness for the forest exam,_ I thought.

"What is this?" He demanded again. The mud was rising on my legs, but nowhere near a point I would have to be worried about. "A clone jutsu?"

His eyes narrowed. "While you were behind the bushes, right? You made a clone, and…"

"And then I let myself get caught." I smiled. "Very good."

He seemed to regain some composure. "In that case, your plan was wasted. All I have to do is attack this clone here and it'll disappear. It can't hurt me." He reached forward and prepared a spinning punch to the clone.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

He stopped. "Why not?"

"Who says I'm the clone?" my clone stated from behind him.

Keiji's shaking returned, as did the uncertainty in his voice. Alarm was growing in his eyes as he realized my plan.

"If you attack the clone, it will disappear. But you don't know which one is the clone, do you?" I continued.

"If you attack me, you have to take your eyes off the swamp, and it's dispelled, freeing that Hotaru to attack you," my clone said.

"But if you attack me," I added, "That Hotaru over there will slit your throat."

"N…no!" Keiji stammered, finding himself unable to move.

"No matter what you do, you'll be attacked. You…"

"…are trapped," finished my clone.

The Konoha Jounin, Shouji-san, watched for a moment to see what Keiji would do. When no move was made, he stepped forward. "Since Furuzawa Keiji is unable to make a further move, I'm calling this match in favor of Yoruhana Hotaru."

Wild cheers erupted from the crowd. I dropped the clone, exhausted but with enough energy remaining for another fight or two, if necessary. Keiji swore when he saw which one of me had been the clone.

"There's nothing you could have done," I told him, walking up to him and offering my hand. "It was a good match."

"Yeah," he said bitterly, but he took my hand and shook it, eyes downcast.

Looking around, I saw the thousands of people in the crowd standing, applauding for me. My brother was somewhere among them.

_I did it. I won for him. They can't call Yoruhana clan members failures anymore…_

Jomei was up there too. I made a mental note to treat him to whatever dinner he chose after this was over for the help he had, albeit unintentionally, given me during that match.

"You'd best head up to the waiting balcony, if you're not injured," Shouji-san directed at me. "The next match will be starting right away."

"Right," I said, watching Garuki and Koori walk out from the stairwell and onto the tournament floor. "Of course."

Garuki gave me a high-five as he passed, no longer looking as nervous as he had that morning.

"Be careful," I whispered after him.

"No problem," he said. "I'll see you in the next round!"

But Koori's icy expression as he passed gave me the feeling that there may be more of a problem than Garuki was counting on.


	13. Frozen Over

Chapter 13 – Frozen Over

Chapter 13 – Frozen Over

Hurrying up the stairwell, I reached the balcony where my competitors had been watching my match. We stood together now, overlooking the tournament floor, where Garuki and Koori stood sizing each other up on either side of the referee.

"Welcome back, and awesome match!" Ginkaze Kimi greeted me enthusiastically.

"Thanks." I took a spot against the railing between her and Konoha's Tenten, who chose not to join in our conversation, brows furrows as if already examining the next match for clues to help her win later on.

"Really," Kimi continued. "The way you purposefully acted tired so he thought he trapped you…"

"Nothing you wouldn't have come up with," I stated jovially, inwardly pleased at the compliment. "Are they about ready to start?"

Kimi nodded. "Any second now."

Below, Shouji-san signaled for the match to begin.

For just an instant before either ninja moved, even from so far away, I thought I saw a confident, determined glint in Garuki's eye that was unlike I had ever seen from him before.

Then the match began, faster and fiercer than any of the previous Chuunin Exam matches to date. Garuki and Koori obviously had been training to be prepared for exactly what the other had to offer, if they were so confident in their plans that they didn't even bother to test each other out.

But it was clear which of the two came more prepared.

Koori charged.

"Ninja Art: Beast Claws!"Garuki yelled, and the ends of his fingers transformed into long, curved wolf claws. He wouldn't be able to hold a kunai, maybe, but these looked far more deadly to me. He then burst forward with a speed I'd never seen from him, rushing forward to meet Koori's charge. Koori had a set attack pattern prepared; I could tell by how familiar he seemed with the movements, dodging, rolling on the ground and launching upward at Garuki feet first for a double kick. My friend's taijutsu had greatly improved, however, and he dodged the movement with greatest ease, curving around to strike Koori with two swipes of his transformed paws. Blood streaked through Koori's ice-white clothing, and he glared at Garuki, who had stopped a few meters away, panting.

"He…he's gotten really good!" Kimi gaped. "Garuki-kun told me today that your sensei had been training him in strength and speed, but he made it sound like no big deal. But that, just now, it's like…"

"…a whole different Garuki," I finished, gazing downward at my friend. Indeed he was greatly changed from a month earlier. I was proud of him, but at the same time…

…_a little scared._

"You won't win that easy," came the dark comment from Koori, just loud enough to be audible. He moved again then, quickly, trying to draw out a similar attack from Garuki.

It worked, and this time as soon as Garuki was in close enough to reach with his new claws, Koori launched a booted foot into his stomach, connecting.

"Ugh!" Garuki flew backwards and landed on his rear a ways back, sliding a few feet. That was no surprise given the strength behind the kick, but…

"He's bleeding!" I cried out. Sure enough, six little circles of blood had appeared on his chest. It didn't seem bad, but it didn't make sense.

Kimi nodded gravely. "You didn't notice? Koori's boots have spikes on the bottom for extra traction. They're made for mountain climbing around Hidden Snow, normally…"

Garuki didn't let it get to him, though. He stood, and waited calmly for Koori to charge once more.

The moment Koori twitched toward him, Garuki formed a seal I was familiar with – one he used on a regular basis back home in training, Snow Screen Jutsu. Except there was no snow around.

"What's he doing?" I almost had time to ask, before the question was answered for me.

"Earth element, Earthen Screen no Jutsu!" he shouted, sending the dirt floor of the stadium flying into the air in a cloud of dust, just as he would usually have done with snow. The entire tournament floor clouded over, and no one could see a thing. The audience began murmuring amongst themselves, wondering what was going on.

Curious, I formed a series of seals and whispered, "Kokugan," activating my eye jutsu. At first it didn't help in the least, seeing as Garuki had to infuse the dirt with his chakra to make it fly upward, so all I could see was a screen of blue. But the massive amounts of chakra disappeared far before the dirt itself settled, and I could make out two distinct human shapes glowing blue from the chakra within them. Then, there were two more.  
"

Garuki-kun summoned his wolves," I said.

"How do you…?" Kimi asked, turning toward me, but I ignored the question.

"Just wait."

Sure enough, moments later there was a scream, and as the dust began to settle enough to see through, people in the crowd gasped to see Koori locked in place with two wolves clamped down on his ankles, Garuki standing to his front with the claw jutsu dispelled and several shuriken in each hand.

"You may not have been able to see in the screen, and neither could I," Garuki stated blandly. "But my wolves have the best sense of smell around here. They didn't need eyes. Now, it's time to pay you back for trying to kill my teammate!"

Kimi blanched beside me as Garuki sent six shuriken flying straight at Koori's middle. The crowd roared.

Koori disappeared.

"You made a mistake," Koori sneered from his position near the wall on the opposite side of the stadium, behind the two wolves and shocked Garuki, who turned to see him. "You sent your little friends and my ankles…instead of my hands. I can still use seals, you idiot!"

"Replacement Jutsu…" I muttered, hoping he hadn't gotten the idea from my match.

Koori was limping badly, though, and the wolves raced after him at a simple command from Garuki.

"He can't outrun them in that condition," I said.

Kimi's brows furrowed at my side, and she stared hard at her teammate below. "I…don't think he's going to try," she said.

"What?"

Koori turned toward the wall, scrutinizing something. "Here," was all he said, and as the wolves closed in on him, he performed the Ice Breath jutsu we had seen him use in the prelims…on the wall.

For a second, nothing happened except Koori stepping two feet to his left, and turning to face the open stadium and the oncoming wolves.

Then the wall exploded.

Water gushed out of the hole in such amounts that it blew back both wolves and was quickly spreading out to fill the stadium.

"Th…the main water pipe!" shouted a Konoha Jounin seated not far from my location. "How did he know?"

"Forget that," said the ninja beside him. "We need to repair that right now!"

"No," the first shocked Jounin said, putting out an arm to stop his companion. "We have to wait until after the matches. We can't interfere."

Far above, the Hokage, Tsunade-sama, had her head in her hand, looking exasperated at the damage.

I returned my glance to the stadium floor. The water in the pipes must have been running out, because it had slowed to a trickle after filling the floor. Garuki glared in Koori's direction; his wolves had slunk back to his side, drenched and clearly uncomfortable.

"Nice," Garuki admitted, "but that's all the water. You won't be able to pull it again. Go at him, boys!" The wolves reluctantly charged toward Koori once more, almost as if expecting a second blast.

"You're misunderstanding something," Koori said, sneering vilely at Garuki. "The blast wasn't what I was after. It was only a pleasant side effect."

I knew then what he was planning. Down on the field, I could see Garuki's eyes widen as he realized it too.

It was too late, though. There was nothing I or Garuki could do to stop him.

Koori formed the seal I knew he would, and sent his Fuyuno Ice Breath, stronger than ever before, over the length of the field. It turned instantly into an ice rink, right under their feet. Both wolves skidded a few feet before falling flat on their rumps, clunking their chins against the ice and spinning in circling, eventually coming to a halt far from where Koori stood smirking. With disdainful looks toward Garuki, both wolves disappeared.

Garuki cried out after them, trying to take a step forward but falling as well. He landed hard on his right wrist, and everyone heard the snap.

"No!" I shouted. Kimi winced beside me, but cheered her teammate on.

"Now, what was that you said about getting me back?" Koori sneered, stepping forward without hesitation toward Garuki.

"How can he…?" I began, but then I remembered.

"The ice pick shoes," Kimi said.

Below, Koori was still speaking. "I think you mixed something up." Garuki scrambled to stand on the ice as Koori neared, but was unable. He clung to his broken arm, wide-eyed.

"You have no reason for revenge. Nobody hurt you. Nobody tried to kill you. And because I failed earlier, nobody killed your teammate!" Koori shouted. Garuki blanched. "But if you're so determined to stick up for your Katana after what she did, maybe I'll just off you instead!"

He blew into the air and a few icicles fell into his hand. He sent them at Garuki, who tried feebly but failed in deflecting them. They stuck into his left shoulder.

Then, my Kokugan still activated, I spotted the large amount of chakra he was gathering to his feet. "He's going to try to move that way," I said under my breath, finally dropping my Bloodline jutsu in favor of saving chakra. Sure enough, with the last of his energy, he pushed off with both arms, grimacing in pain, but using the chakra as traction to propel himself forward.

"Troublesome!" Koori spat, and sent his Ice Breath in Garuki's direction. Ice shot up from the ice-rink floor and surrounded Garuki's legs, sending him falling forward with another sickening crack. I winced, but couldn't look away. Desperately, Garuki scrambled to a kneel, reached for a kunai with his left hand and chopped madly at the ice holding him in.

Not far from him, Koori was in a wide stance, hands forming the seal of the Boar and eyes closed in meditation. When he opened them moments later, their icy pale glare seemed almost demonic.

"Final….Storm!" The words were strained, but their meaning was clear. Small, dark storm clouds were forming above Garuki's head, lightning arcing between them as they grew in size. Soon a torrent of rain began, stronger than I could believe possible in such small clouds, and Koori drew in his breath.

"Koori, no!" At first I thought the shout was mine, but it had come from Kimi. "Don't do it!"

Koori heard, and sent a steely glance Kimi's direction. His eyes caught hers for a moment, and he hesitated.

Then he merely snorted, and breathed outwards at the torrential rain, sending thousands of deadly ice spikes rushing down at Garuki, who screamed out in pain. Blood spattered everywhere.

Before the second torrent could impale him, a glowing barrier appeared over my friend at the hands of Shouji-san, the Konoha Jounin referee. Several more Jounin, for the second time during the Exam, were holding Koori back from his opponent, preventing further attacks.

"The match is called," Shouji-san said in a voice barely loud enough for the crowd to hear, "in favor of Fuyuno Koori." He let his shield go, displaying a tattered Garuki bleeding on the ground. "If the medical ninjas could make there way here quickly, please…"

"Garuki!" I cried out, preparing to jump the railing and run to his side, when a steady hand grasped my shoulder.

"No, Hotaru-chan." My sensei's voice, appearing out of nowhere, gave no room for argument.

I said nothing. Only then did the tears start.

"Let the medic nins do their job, Hotaru," he spoke again, gently but firmly. "You will only get in the way."

"Can…can I at least go to the hospital wing?" I asked through my tears. "Please?"

"In a bit." Sutiibu pulled me into a hug from behind, holding me close. "Garuki's strong. He'll be fine. Once he's stable, you check on him. Only then. Like I said, you'd only be getting in the way right now."

I nodded, wiping my tears with my long kimono sleeve. It was no time to cry with another of my friends up next.

I looked beside me, but Kimi had already made her way onto the floor, and was standing politely to the side as Garuki was carted away on a stretcher. Koori, wisely, had disappeared for the moment. Kimi's opponent, Sand's vicious Ueki Sumi, stood impatiently across from her.

"Come on, ref, let's get it started," she said. Turning towards Kimi, who was clearly doing her best to clear the last bout from her mind momentarily, she sneered. "That was nothing. When I get done with you…it'll be way worse than that."

Kimi turned. "You're the one who almost killed Kwahu," she said steadily. "You would have, right? If they hadn't stopped you."

Sumi actually laughed. "Of course! Like I'd intentionally allow an opponent to live. That's not how I fight. Personally, I think that Koori kid of yours has the right attitude. I can't wait to fight him in the finals."

The arena was clear; the ice had been melted by some fire-using Konoha nins to allow the medical ninjas to reach Garuki, leaving only a few large mud puddles. Kimi turned to face her opponent, not a hint of fear in her face. She crouched into fighting stance.

"I'm not like Koori-san…I don't hold a grudge. But I _won't_ let someone like you make it to the finals."

Shouji signaled, and the fight began.


	14. Snow Falling, Phoenix Rising

Chapter 14 – Snow Falling, Phoenix Rising

Chapter 14 – Snow Falling, Phoenix Rising

Sutiibu-sensei stayed momentarily by my side as we waited for the girls below to make a move.

"I can't stay here; coaches aren't allowed to advise during the event, so I'll get in trouble if I stay. You watch this – you'll have to fight one of them later, more likely than not, so you need to be prepared."

"And Garuki?"

"I promise I'll let you know as soon as you are welcome in the hospital room downstairs. Until then, the best you can do for him is prepare yourself for the next fight, and win it."

"Yes, sir." I hadn't thought about it until just then, but I would be fighting Koori next. I would have the chance to avenge Garuki, and Katana for that matter. I was the last one left of our team that he hadn't yet defeated.

But if Garuki-kun and nee-san weren't able to beat him, how on earth could I?

Sutiibu-sensei gave me one last squeeze. "Be strong, Hotaru-chan." He disappeared, and below, the match began.

Sumi readied several of her over-long needles in both hands, not moving but looking Kimi-chan up and down, as if trying to decide which pressure point to attack first in order to inflict the most damage.

Just out of Sumi's range, Kimi shook her head and formed a series of seals. "I'm not even going to let you. Mind's Eye Separation!"

"What?" I wondered aloud, although none of my village-mates remained nearby to respond.

Nor did the matter clear up any in the next few minutes. The only thing I could think of was that Kimi had somehow effected Sumi's accuracy, for inexplicably, as Kimi began running in circles around Sumi, throwing kunai, all of Kimi's shots landed, while all of Sumi's missed. Sumi shifted to the defensive, doing nothing but following Kimi's movements and blocking her kunai out of the way.

Except she missed each one by a fraction of an inch, and they hit anyway.

It didn't seem like her at all, deadly accurate as she had always been; not only that, but the scowl on her face clearly indicated her frustration. Finally, she tore out the kunai still stuck in her shoulder, spat on the ground and charged toward Kimi, trying to get in close enough that accuracy didn't matter. Kimi avoided the charge easily, added to her distance by sprinting across the room, then turned and sent a storm of needles straight at the Sand girl. Sumi's hand swept across her body to block the attack, but again it was just a fraction of a second too late, and they all hit.

Stunned, Sumi fell to her knees. Her face contorted to shock, but only for a second; then, she was simply angry, glaring hard in Kimi's direction. Kimi stood confidently a way off.

"I told you – I won't even let you hit me. It doesn't matter how deadly you are if you can't hit your mark!"

"What's going on?" Konoha's Tenten, standing next to me, finally asked. "That Sand girl's accuracy rivals mine. Can your Snow ninja be using a wind attack or something?"

I shook my head. "Kimi doesn't use many ninjutsu. Mostly just a combination of needle attacks and…"

"_I probably shouldn't be telling you this…but I have an awesome new genjutsu."_

"…and genjutsu," I finished, eyes wide with understanding.

Seconds later my theory was confirmed, as Kimi took her eyes off Sumi for half a second, long enough to reach for something in her equipment bag. Sumi, not one to be easily shaken and most definitely easily angered, landed a long needle right in Kimi's right shoulder. Her main throwing shoulder.

Sumi's lips formed a malicious grin, and I suspected she had figured it out, too.

Kimi's genjutsu…it wasn't like genjutsu I had seen before. Though it wasn't performed on me, I could judge from Sumi's actions that it wasn't the type of genjutsu that fully engulfed the mind, transporting the effected person to a different dimension, making them mistake reality for something else.

This was a sneak genjutsu.

Kimi stared wide-eyed at Sumi, then pulled the needle out with a grimace. That seemed to waken her, and she shook her head, looking back to Sumi with a more stable, determined glare.

"So you got me once. I made the mistake of stopping; that was my fault. But as long as I keep moving, you'll never hit me!"

"Maybe not," Sumi responded, standing and reading one needle in each hand, in a blocking stance. "But you won't hit me anymore either!"

Kimi went on the attack once more, bobbing and weaving so that she was never in a single location long enough to attack. Waves of needles, multiplied with Bunshin no Jutsu, flew towards Sumi at top speed.

One needle hit, then two…and then Sumi blocked every single one.

"Took a minute to adjust," she said, sneering at the bewildered Kimi while blocking her continued attacks. ".45 seconds. That's the delay that your genjutsu causes between my eyes and my brain, right? Just small enough that I shouldn't even notice, but long enough that it causes me to miss. Subtle. Too bad I've never been one for dispelling gentjutsu."

"Ahh," was all Tenten said beside me, but I couldn't believe it. Not only had Sumi discovered the secret to Kimi's genjutsu like I had, she also calculated the exact time delay…probably by watching the needle and feeling the pain when it actually hit.

_Incredible. If I had been fighting Kimi, I would have lost far before adjusting to the technique._

Kimi seemed just as shocked as me, at first, but recovered quickly and rushed in, dropping her trademark needles in favor of hand-to-hand combat. It was a smart move; at 10 or 20 meters away, Sumi would have time to adjust to the delay and react. In close, however, she wouldn't even see the attack coming until it had actually hit.

It only took a moment for Sumi to realize what happened, as Kimi's first few strikes landed on her kidney and sternum, knocking her back. Sumi swung her arms in a futile attempt to block, but she had no idea what was coming, and the next few blows also landed. The crowd roared, hardly believing their eyes.

Right as Kimi pulled back for a finishing blow to Sumi's head, Sumi closed her eyes and stood, perfectly calm, arms down. When Kimi's punch landed, Sumi's hands rushed up, grabbed both of Kimi's wrists, and held her while she swung her right foot in a flawless sweep, pushing Kimi down to the ground, never once letting go.

"I don't have to see what you're doing to beat you, girl," Sumi said maliciously, eyes harsh even when they were closed. Her hands began to glow red and Kimi's wrists fell limp. "I just needed to feel you."

"She let herself get hit!" I said to no one in particular.

"Now comes the part where I never let my opponents live," Sumi said below, shifting her hands to a spot above Kimi's heart.

A poof behind me indicated the return of my sensei.

"You can go see Garuki-kun now, if you'd like," Sutiibu said. His eyes shifted to the ring below. "And, it seems, the young Ginkaze."

Surely enough, in a scene that was becoming quite familiar, several Jounin held Sumi from any movement, and her opponent, Kimi, was being carted out of the ring. Members of the audience groaned in disappointment at Sumi's win, although the groans mixed with comments of awe at the strength of both Sand and Snow villages this year. I heard, too – they were also talking about me, Garuki, and Koori. And I heard them discussing my next match with eager anticipation.

But there was one more match before that.

"Really?" I directed at Sutiibu-sensei. "You mean I can go? I don't have to watch the next match 'in case I fight one of them in the finals' like you always warn us?"

"I…don't think that will be necessary," said Sutiibu in an odd voice. "Why don't you come with me?" He set a hand on my shoulder and moved me through the hall and down the stairs.

"Sensei, what's going on? Garuki's all right, isn't he?"

"He's…okay, Hotaru-chan. Why don't you see for yourself?" Sutiibu pushed me gently through the door to the infirmary, a small room for the small final rounds. He walked beside me as I made my way to a curtained-off bed in the back left-hand corner of the room. Behind the curtain was a female medic nin, closely monitoring my friend, who lay unmoving in bed.

"Garuki!" I cried, rushing toward his bed and grabbing hold of his left hand, the uninjured one. There was no response. He was covered nearly head to toe in bandages, many of them damp with blood.

I looked up at the nurse with pleading eyes.

There was no need to say anything; she understood completely. "Don't worry, dear, he'll be okay."

"Thank the gods…" I lay my forehead on his hand. "I was so worried…"

"It'll be a long recovery for him, though, I'm afraid," the nurse continued, pulling up a chair to allow me to sit next to Garuki's bed. She offered one to Sutiibu as well, but he declined. "Both bones are broken clean through below the knee on both legs, and his right wrist is broken too. They'll be put into casts as soon as the swelling comes down. As for the ice needle damage, luckily most of it was superficial and will heal up fine, although a few went pretty deep. He did lose a lot of blood…that's why he's still out. Good thing they stopped the match when they did, though; another round from that jutsu and it would have been bad news. We'll probably keep him asleep with drugs for a little while, until his body stabilizes from the shock."

I was crying as I held my friend's hand, but relieved to hear he would be okay, eventually at least.

The nurse turned to Sutiibu. "You're his Jounin, correct?" Sutiibu nodded. "Do you know if Mikata-san has any family here in town?"

"His grandmother, Titi-san, came in to watch the exams," Sutiibu said, much to my surprise. "I'm sure she's pounding on the door asking to be allowed into the backstage area right now."

"I'll go check," the nurse said, promptly walking off.

"See? I told you. Garuki-kun is strong, and he'll be just fine," sensei said to me, eyes turning to Garuki.

"Yeah…" I responded. My real thoughts were on the next match.

Koori. He tried to kill both my teammates, and with Garuki almost succeeded. He would certainly try the same with me.

I knew I should be scared. Terrified, even. My teammates were much stronger than me, and both had fallen to this opponent. Koori was probably the strongest Genin in Snow Village right now.

But I didn't care. I wasn't scared at all. Only one thought ran through my head.

_I have to beat him. For Garuki, for nee-san, for myself…I have to beat him._

My eyes bored past the curtain to the bed on the other side of the room, where blood-spattered Koori was having his leg wounds tightly wrapped. He caught my glance, and returned it with equal intensity. I could feel his hatred; but I wondered, could he feel mine?

Koori turned his gaze to the door as a stretcher wheeled in from the emergent care room next-door, where Garuki had also initially been taken. It was Kimi. She, too, was out cold, although she was not nearly as pale as Nodin had been after falling prey to the same attack of Sumi's. I assumed she would also be just fine, given some time to recover. I saw Koori give a small sigh of relief, and remembered what it was that made him such an angry person in the first place.

_He must be a loyal teammate, _I thought. _The best kind of teammate.  
_

_Too bad that loyalty doesn't extend to other fellow Snow Ninja…_

Now was not the time for sympathy.

"Yoruhana Hotaru and Fuyuno Koori?" came the voice of a medical nin from the entrance door. "You should hurry upstairs. The match between Tenten-san and Oiwa-san just ended. On that note," he said, turning to waiting medical staff, "thank goodness for a match with no serious injuries for once, you can all stay here. Although Oiwa-san is a little worse for wear."

"Looks like Katana's suggestions helped after all," Sutiibu said jovially beside me. He turned to look at me, serious again. "Hotaru-chan…be careful. I don't like seeing members of my team down here."

"Yes, sir," I said, not a waver in my voice, which carried a darker note than usual.

"Are you prepared?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you'd best hurry up there. I'll be watching, don't you worry."

I nodded, checked my weapons pouch, and made my way out of the infirmary with a last look over my shoulder at my sleeping, bandaged teammate. The stairs echoed strangely as I walked up them towards the main floor. Koori was a ways ahead of me, limping slightly.

_Well, at least I have that much on my side, _I though, already preparing mentally for what was about to happen.

We walked out into the open field to screams and applause from every angle of the stadium. The field hadn't changed much since I last saw it; the last few weapons that had clearly littered it moments before disappeared before my eyes as Tenten drew them back into the summon realm, rolled up her giant scroll, and walked off the field. A few mud puddles from Koori's fight with Garuki still remained, shining in the midday sun.

I placed my feet in a steady attack position, eyes on Koori and on the judge, Shouji-san, at the same time. In my gut I felt a pressure like never before, as if pure power were surging through my chakra circulatory system, just waiting to explode outward. My glare leveled at Koori, focusing all that unrecognized energy on him, and suddenly, there was nothing else in the world. The stadium, the fans, my brother and Nariko and Sutiibu and everyone watching, Shouji-san, past, future, all were silent, and there was only the battle.

"Begin," echoed a voice from somewhere distant, and so we began.

Was it my mind, or did I see the slightest glint of concern in Koori's eye as he stared me down? _That doesn't make sense, I thought. What does he have to fear from me?  
_

_I'm an inside fighter. And he's weak inside with those injuries.  
_

_More than that.  
_

_Fire. Fire melts ice._

I may not have been prepared to use my Bloodline, but Koori need not know that. As far as he was concerned, weak though I may be, I was the worst possible match for his normal attack style. This realization gave me added composure and I began to work out a strategy.

Koori must have been thinking the same way, because before I could get too far in formulating my plans, Koori pulled something out of his weapons pouch. Something I had never seen before.

It was a long, thin tube, almost like a flute except smaller. I couldn't for the life of me figure what it was for.

The air around me clammed up, sticking to my skin. Once again, he'd performed his family technique, drawing water out of the atmosphere, faster than the eye could see.

_It's time to move.  
_

_Let's see what that tool of his can do._

I sent three kunai, one after another, straight for Koori's face. To my shock, he performed his Ice Breath seal one handed, a feat I had never seen done by a Genin. By breathing into the small tube, ice was sent out in small but sturdy shards, which, one after another, knocked down my oncoming kunai. He sent one extra at me, but I saw it coming and dodged it easily. Out of the corner of my eye, I analyzed its length and thickness; it wouldn't do to be hit by one.

_I can handle that.  
_

_He can't run, and although it's rapid fire he can only block one kunai at a time with that tool. That means…_

I was never able to pull it off in practice due to lack of chakra, but I knew it would work here – the move Nariko taught me.

I sent three more kunai in a straight line at Koori. With his injuries, there was no way he'd dodge if he could help it; and sure enough, he raised his ice dart blower to his mouth once more. I waited for him to block the first two, then activated the justu.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Blocked by the ice shard, the original kuani fell to the ground, but its five very real shadow clones each hit their target – two in Koori's right arm, two in his leg, and one above his navel, doing very real damage.

"Ugh! That…that's a Jounin-level technique!" Koori sputtered, pulling out the knives and glaring at me.

_True…a Jounin could do that with his own body. Even today, with all this anger-fueled chakra, I could never do something that complicated. _

But Koori didn't need to know that. I smiled and narrowed my eyes at him, then moved once more, setting up the same combo. The moment the clones appeared, Koori took a deep breath and blew a shield out of midair, the same move he had used against Katana so often in the Prelims.

I was ready.

One replacement jutsu later, I was behind him, and sent a third Kage Bunshin set of kunai straight at his unprotected backside. It wasn't his back I aimed for, though; this time all six kunai struck his legs.

_My chakra supply may be higher than normal today, but the kage bunshin still drains me_, I thought, panting. I had to end it soon.

Koori let out an angry yell and fell down to a kneel, grabbing his legs, where crimson fluid was again leaking through his already bloodstained white cargo pants.

_There!_

I saw the opening and rushed in to strike while he was unable to defend himself in close quarters. Koori looked up barely in enough time to see me coming. Right as I reached him, he cried out in a slightly panicked voice, and something crystal formed in his hands, close to his body.

"Ninpou: Ice Sword!"

For one frightening second, Koori and I were face to face, he clearly frightened at the close call and in a good deal of pain from my kunai, me wide-eyed and in shock, somehow unable to move. I looked down.

He hadn't had much time to form it; my guess was it was supposed to be much longer, in theory. But the solid blade of ice was lodged at least several inches into my belly.

I was lucky. A fully formed sword would have run me straight through.

My fingers, acting separately from my brain, reached down to touch the blood seeping out around the ice.

Koori, either still alarmed at how close my last attack had come to hitting him, or surprised at his own retaliation, pulled the half formed sword out and threw it on the ground. "Get away from me!!" he shouted, pushing solidly with both arms so that I went flying several feet backwards, landing on my rear. He scrambled a good distance away, farther than I could throw.

_I'm…bleeding._ Losing my concentration, I could vaguely hear the commentary of the crowd now, though I could make out nothing specific. It was all kind of fuzzy…like there was a buzzing in my ears, or something like that…

Seeing me unmoving and dazed must have re-awoken Koori from his state of shock. He tied off a quick bandage over his right leg, which was bleeding the worst of the two, and stood, examining me, eyes narrowed. "You thought you had me. Nice try. But I have the past on my side. I'm in the right! Your teammate caused the death of mine, and now I'll give her a taste of her own medicine. Finally! Look at you, you can't even move…"

_That's right. We're not done yet.  
_

_Think, Hotaru. You're losing blood. You've got to stop the blood._

I fumbled in my tool pouch for something Jomei had given me in training; a pill that numbed whatever area you directed it to with your chakra. It could make pain invisible for a short time. I crunched it between my teeth and swallowed the powder, then activated Kokugan. It was difficult, the dizzier I got, but with the ability to see the chakra I eventually moved the medication to the stab wound, and felt immediate relief.

I was able to think a bit clearer.

_Still bleeding. Need to stop the blood._

"Examiner?" Koori called. "I don't know what you're waiting for. This match is over and she'll die if you leave her."

_What stops bleeding?_

"If you leave her, I will kill her. It's up to you."

_Cauterizing._

Shouji-san looked at me, examined my face, and hesitated.

_Fire._

With no time left to hesitate, I called up the scorching red chakra from my center, and lit the chakra on my right palm on fire.

Koori stopped. Everyone looked at me.

Oblivious to the pain thanks to Jomei's medicine but still queasy at the thought, I pressed my palm to the hole in my stomach. The moment I felt the burn spread, I let the chakra go and smothered the flame with my sleeve.

Koori was staring open-mouthed at my center.

I felt myself steady as the bleeding stopped, but I could still barely stand. From here, there were very few plans of attack. I couldn't move, and Koori didn't want to. It seemed foolish to do the same thing twice, but I could think of nothing else in my state. I pulled a few shuriken from my leg holster and stumbled a few steps closer, hoping that their slightly different attack approach would work to my advantage.

"I don't think so!" Koori shouted. I expected him to pull his tool out once more and try to deflect all three in time, but he didn't even bother; he spun, with difficulty on his legs but a full spin nonetheless, just enough to create a round barrier of ice from the ground up over his head. It was an egg, and my shuriken clacked uselessly against its shell.

"I told you if you didn't end it, I'd kill her," Koori said, voice muffled but audible through the ice. Then, to me, "Now, let me finish this. For my teammate – and for yours!"

_What can he do from in there?_

I heard a tiny scratching noise from within the ice fortress, and a tiny hole appeared in the front.

_None of his ninjutsu attacks can function without Ice Breath…_

"Prepare to die."

I didn't hear him call the name of the attack that almost killed Garuki, but I felt the presence of the clouds forming above me.

_Garuki-kun._

The blowing tool appeared through the hole, and suddenly I understood what he was going to do. There was no way to know for sure, but I had a feeling that tool didn't only blow small bursts of air. My bet was that it amplified it too. No time to find out.

_He injured Katana, almost killed Garuki, and now he's going to kill me. I'm going to die.  
_

_No, _I thought.

"Not after what you did to my team!!"

A huge surge of chakra flamed through my center, radiating out through my body in anger, causing the fear to evaporate along with any doubt.

For a week I had been training my Bloodline Limit alone, after training with Nariko, to no avail. I had made no progress at all. I had little control over Hibana's flames, less the farther they got from my body or the larger they became. Neji's notes gave several clan techniques, but all of them were far more advanced than I could imagine. Even when I knew I was forming the seals and mixing the chakra correctly, I could never quite manage. There just wasn't enough in me, and I didn't have the control. I gave up on them.

But I needed one now.

It was time to gamble. I had no other choice.

The formation of seals was eleven seals long, the chakra mixing complex. My eyes closed as I tried to focus. I blocked out Koori's words and motions within his ice protection; the only way to beat him now was to move faster; I couldn't prevent his attack.

_Boar, rat, dragon…  
_

…_chakra turns counterclockwise._

My eyes shot open in a deadly focus straight forward through Koori's ice shell.

_Done._

"Kekkei Genkai: Ninpou, Spirit Flame!"

"Ice Breath!!"

I felt every last ounce of chakra drain instantly from my body as Koori's breath crossed the field stronger and faster than I'd ever seen. The tool was indeed what I had thought. Right as the rain began to pour onto my head and form into ice crystals above me, two giant wings of flame erupted from my fingertips. A shield over my head, they turned the ice back to harmless water and evaporated it above me as they twisted together in the form of a phoenix.

I couldn't see Koori's look of terror, but I could feel it.

Not leaving my kneeling position, I swept my arms forward and pressed my chakra as hard as I could in Koori's direction. The phoenix form swept forward as if of its own accord and crashed into Koori's ice shell, melting it in an instant. I began to shake from the strain and in no time the phoenix's form had disappeared, leaving behind the burning form of Koori, as if he had been the one I had summoned from my Bloodline's flame.

I vaguely heard Shouji-san calling the match and demanding water-jutsu assistance over the roars of the crowd before I collapsed into a small heap onto the ground, feeling oddly empty and extremely exhausted.


	15. Changes

Chapter 15 – Changes

Here it is everyone – at long last, the last chapter of Leaves of Flame!

Thanks for your patience – I know it's been a long time since I've updated, but here it is all in one go for ya. I hope you enjoy it a ton.

Apologies are due for the formatting weirdities in the last few chapters – I lost them when my last computer died and had to rescue them from DeviantArt, and the formatting simply wouldn't comply with me.

Please stay tuned for my Bleach fanfiction, which should be posted in entirety by the end of the day, and my next Hotaru story – in which we see a lot more of Konoha – the first chapter of which will also be up later today.

Again, thanks for reading!! Happy or helpful comments are welcome.

--

Chapter 15 – Changes

I awoke three days later, judging from the sun pouring into the hospital window, around mid-afternoon. My first coherent thought was that I was starving. Opening my eyes, I saw Sutiibu-sensei, Jomei, and Nariko sitting at my bedside.

"Hey, hey, she's awake!" Jomei cried, pumping a fist. "Now can we go out to eat?"

I laughed as the others looked up from reading various magazines to see me awake. I sat up, feeling a tightly-wound bandage constricting my midsection. "Nice to see you too, Jomei. Although food sounds fantastic."

"The nurse actually just went to fetch you some ramen from the cafeteria. She figured you'd be up soon," my sensei said.

"I'll go find her!" Jomei offered, jumping up and out of the room.

"It's no surprise you're hungry; chakra exhaustion will do that to one," Sutiibu commented.

_Chakra exhaustion. That's right. _

"How's Koori-san?" I asked suddenly.

Sutiibu blinked. "That's your primary concern? Not 'who won?' or 'how injured am I?' or even 'how's Garuki-kun?'"

"Well…I…" I stuttered.

"You feel guilty, right?" Nariko asked in a sullen tone. "You're worried you killed him."

Her voice shocked me and she wouldn't look me in the eye. Had I killed him after all?

"Fuyuno-san suffered extensive burns before a water-jutsu-abled Jounin was able to put him out. Luckily he was still fully treatable; while a large part of his body was burned, the burns weren't too nasty just yet. His ice wall absorbed part of the damage."

"So he's…all right?"

"Yes, Hotaru-chan, he will be just fine. There may be some scarring on his arms, though, and his legs will take some time to heal, between your attacks and Garuki's."

_Thank goodness._ "So…about those other questions…"

Sutiibu laughed. "You won the match, of course. It probably should have been a tie, honestly, but the match was called before you passed out. Konoha's Tenten beat that Sumi girl in the semi-finals. Because you were unable to compete, Tenten won the final match by default."

"I…got second place?"

"Yes." Sutiibu smiled kindly at me. "Yes, you did. As for your injuries…as I'm sure you can tell, your stomach wound was pretty deep, and while your quick thinking stopped you from bleeding out, the burn caused a bit of damage as well. They cleaned you up okay though, and stitched the wound. You're to take it easy for a few weeks so it doesn't re-open."

"I could have been a lot worse," I noted.

"Very true. That move you pulled at the end nearly drained you of all your chakra and killed you…I wouldn't advise that you use it again," Sutiibu added, then continued, "but in any case, you've been asleep recovering for almost three days now, and you'll probably be eating twice as often as usual for a few days until you're back to normal. Otherwise you're fine."

"And Garuki?"

"He was transported back to Snow Village two days ago via one of my summons and a special ANBU squad, per request of his family, but last I heard he was awake and healing well."

At the mention of family, I remembered suddenly that my brother was in town.

"Where's onii-san?"

"He's been here since you got here, waiting by your side for days," Sutiibu said. "I finally told him to go get some food about an hour ago. My guess is Jomei will find him downstairs."

"Good." I couldn't wait to talk to him. "So, what now?"

"Now, I have a short meeting with the Hokage," Sutiibu said, standing and excusing himself. "She said it could wait until you were awake, but I need to get her messages for diplomats in Hidden Snow before we leave."

"And when do we leave?"

"As soon as you can walk," Sutiibu said. "We'll take one of my cars this time," he added, winking, as he left the room.

Nariko was left sitting silently at my bedside. She still wouldn't look at me.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Nariko, what is it? I won, didn't I? And I'm fine! You trained me really well."

"And how much did you pay attention to my training?" she snapped, glaring at me.

"W…what?"

"I told you not to use your Bloodline!"

"Nariko, I had no choice…"

"You always have a choice! Fire is dangerous, Hotaru! You got lucky with it, you know that and so do I, and you still almost got yourself and Koori killed! A few seconds longer, he would have burned to death and you would have died of chakra exhaustion."

I was silent.

"You know," she said suddenly, quieting down and staring at her hands, "my family used to bend fire, too."

"What?"

"Rai told me. Even the masters had accidents though. Fire is so much more volatile than the other elements…things kept happening, people got hurt, innocent people, village-mates…"

"What happened? You said 'used to,' right?"

"Eventually, the head of my clan outlawed the use of fire. That was a really long time ago. A few people who disagreed with him just left the clan, for another country I assume. Ever since then, we stopped bending fire, until the ability itself just faded out of the Bloodline."

"That's why you're so wary of it…"

"Yeah."

I paused for a moment. "Nariko, I understand why you're afraid of it. So am I; I only used it when it was absolutely necessary, as a last resort. And I don't look forward to doing it again any time soon. But my Bloodline is different than yours. I've got the eyes to help me see what I'm doing, and the chakra to keep the fire under check. It'll take a long time, but I know if I work hard I can learn to control my two chakras separately. Then there won't be any accidents. I was made for this…it's in my blood."

Nariko gave a subtle smile. "You've changed, you know, Hotaru-chan. You're not running anymore…I guess I have to respect that. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

I returned her smile. "Sounds good."

Jomei burst back into the room, bewildered nurse trailing behind him carrying three bowls of ramen. "All right! Itadakimasu!!" Not far behind them came my brother. Upon seeing me awake, he charged over to my bed and hugged me tight. Into my ear came his whisper – "Imooto-chan, you make me proud…thank you."

By that evening I was feeling strong enough to walk, so the hospital allowed my discharge. Sutiibu-sensei, Katana, Nariko, Rai, and Jomei were waiting for me at the front gates when Ryuro-nii-san escorted me from the hospital to the edge of the city. Katana gave me her usual gruff expression when she saw me, but gave me a quick hug and a quiet, "Congratulations, kid," when she thought no one was looking. Just as we had gathered our bags and were about to leave the city, I heard someone calling out behind me.

"Yoruhana-sama."

I turned, to little surprise, to see Hyuuga Neji standing by the gate guards. He walked up to me and pulled me aside.

"Congratulations on your second-place win," he said, standing tall in a very official manner.

"Congratulations on your trainee's _first_ place win," I said, smiling at him.

He smiled as well. "Thank you. I just wanted to tell you…your mastery of your Bloodline was quite impressive. I didn't think you could pull it off so quickly, to be honest…"

"It's nowhere near mastered," I muttered, looking at my feet. "I got lucky, that's all."

"Maybe," he admitted, looking at me earnestly, "but luck alone cannot accomplish what you did." We stood awkwardly for a moment before he finished off, "I hope to see you again sometime, Yoruhana Hotaru-san. But if not, I wish you luck with your training."

"You as well, Neji-san." I smiled, and we bowed, and I turned to my friends and family to leave Konoha behind, as far as I knew, for good.

Four days later, after a few nights sleeping while Sutiibu's summoned car drove us home straight through the nights, I found myself back in Snow Village for the first time in over a month. For once, the frigid winds running down main street were like a breath of fresh air. The morning after we arrived, Nariko, Rai and I walked down the street to the hospital halfway-house, a little one-story place where Garuki was staying until he was out of his leg casts. Since his family lived out of town, it was the only place he could be cared for; his grandmother, Titi-san, had however come to live with him in the small ground-floor apartment room long enough to look after him while he healed.

When we arrived, it was Titi who let us in. She was cooking a large traditional breakfast complete with miso soup on the stove. Jomei, Shiro, and even Mika were already there, along with two unusual additions: Kimi and Nodin. They all gathered around Garuki's bed in various chairs; Nodin was still on crutches from the injury to his heel in the prelims, but both he and Kimi looked far healthier. Their hearts must have repaired almost fully from the damage done by Ueki Sumi.

"Hotaru!" Shiro waved from across the room. "Come in! Tell us about your match again!" There were several murmurs of agreement.

It was strange…but since arriving back in Snow, I had found myself sort of…a hero. Even Aiko-san had asked about my match, when she heard I got farther than any of the other Snow ninja. Although she had been quick to point out that I got no further than her in the end.

I took one of the empty seats by the bed, while Nariko made room for Rai. Looking up to give Garuki a wave, I saw him looking much healthier than the last time I had seen him…except for a huge black eye.

"Garuki-kun!" I said, horrified.

"Eh?" He looked up.

"What happened to your eye?"

"Oh, well, heh heh…." He looked nervously at his hands. "I…deserved it."

"What?"

"His grandma did it," Kimi put in.

I looked over at Titi-san, who was so immersed in cooking that she didn't even notice we were talking about her. I was pretty sure I heard her humming "Tequila" over the boiling water.

"What on earth could you have done to make her…"

"I lost the contract with the butterflies," came the sheepish response. That drew a quick glare from his grandmother before she returned to cheerily cooking.

"You did what?"

"I lost the contract."

"I didn't even know that was possible," Nari said, nervously glancing at Rai. Rai shrugged.

"Well, I didn't really lose it per se…but the butterflies got so fed up with my training schedule for the finals that they refused to fight anymore."

"So you have the contract, it's just useless?" I pressed.

"Well, no."

"No?" I asked, exasperated.

"I…let them go."

We all laughed. "You're too nice, Garuki-kun. No wonder your grandma was angry…she worked really hard for that summon."

"Well, they told me they'd find me another summon if I let them go!...they just haven't found one yet," he protested, adding under his breath, "Flaky butterflies."

"Those flaky butterflies could have saved your legs!" Titi-san put in once more before returning to her cooking.

"When his grandma found out why he didn't use them in the battle, she clocked him!" said Jomei with an over-enthusiastic grin. I just shook my head and laughed at him. It was good to have all my friends together again, even if I had the feeling we had all changed quite a bit over the course of the exam.

_Except for Jomei, maybe, _I thought with a smile.

Just as Titi was serving us all bowls of rice and soup, a knock came at the door. It was a Chuunin on messenger duty. He crouched low to the ground and bowed.

"The Second Yukikage requests the audience of Mikata Garuki-san, Ginkaze Kimi-san, and Yoruhana Hotaru-san immediately," he said, waiting for a response.

We all looked at Garuki. "How are we going to get you to her office?"

Rai grinned. "I can take him. Just get him up on my back."

"Actually," said the messenger, looking up, "she'll meet with you just down the hall, in Visitation Room Two."

"That sounds better," Garuki said, laughing. The messenger nodded and disappeared.

We helped Garuki into a wheelchair and Kimi and I pushed him down the hall. To my surprise, Katana and Sutiibu-sensei were standing outside the room. The door was shut, but I heard voices coming from within.

Sutiibu looked up as we came. "Ah, good, Garuki-kun, Hotaru-chan. Oyahou," he said with a grin. "The Yukikage will be right with you. She's…occupied, at the moment."

Katana merely nodded hello to Garuki and I before turning her attention tensely back to the door.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Why are you here, nee-san?"

"I was…talking with someone," she said, distracted.

At that moment, a muscular Chuunin boy, shockingly blue-haired except for a white streak just above his forehead, strode calmly out of the room. He bowed to Sutiibu-san and Katana, nodded my direction, and left with out a word.

"Roka," was all Katana said, watching him leave.

Kado…Roka, I remembered slowly. _Katana's old teammate. The one who killed Kimi and Koori's team member, Tarou. So that's him._

Kimi said not a word as Roka passed us and went out the door. I felt no hatred from her…only quiet respect, although there was a hint of sad regret in her eyes.

"Come in," came the Yukikage's voice from within the room. Sutiibu nodded at me and gestured inside. Kimi, Garuki and I entered.

A small meeting desk had been set up at the front of the room; Ginkaze Yukiko sat behind it, wearing her formal Yukikage white and blue robe and hat over the top of her usual purple robes. She smiled at our entrance.

Fuyuno Koori already stood quietly facing her, weight on a single crutch under his right arm, still heavily bandaged.

We formed a straight line across from the Yukikage.

"Judging from your present company," she began, "I can assume you know what this is about. I shall start off by telling you how very proud of you I am. Four out of eight contestants in the Finals of this Chuunin Exam were from Snow Village. Four! The growing strength of our small village was shown off to an astounding degree by you young ninjas, win or lose, and Snow Village will thrive because of it. Already we are receiving diplomatic messages from the largest villages, seeking to be our allies, or strengthen already solid ties. You have represented us well.

"Now, before I address any of you individually, I believe Fuyuno-san would like to speak."

Koori hobbled forward so he could face all of us at once, although the majority of his gaze was directed at Garuki and I. "I…have been wrong," he started off, a little roughly. We chose to listen in silence; it seemed the respectful thing to do.

"I've been wrong," he said again, gaining confidence. "To hold a grudge is one thing; to hold it against the wrong people is even worse. I thought that by attacking Takeyoshi-san, or you two, her teammates, somehow I could bring back Tarou…" He paused for a moment before continuing. "I know it doesn't make sense, but I guess I just wanted to prove I was strong enough to protect him now, even though it's too late. And I wanted those responsible for his death to feel the suffering that Kimi-chan and I felt for so long after our teammate's death."

Behind me, Kimi shifted and stared at the floor.

"But, Hotaru, I saw in you what a real teammate does. A real teammate stands up for his or her friends by pulling out the strength when it's truly needed…and a real teammate understands that anger itself is not the answer. Nor is attacking one's allies. My anger was misguided at best. If anything, it was Kado-san who earned that particular emotion."

My mind swept back to the blue-haired young man who had just left the room so calmly, and I noted Koori's use of proper politeness in addressing him.

_Something's changed…_

"Yukikage-sama felt, when I expressed this to her, that the one I truly needed to speak with was, in fact, Kado-san. After apologizing to Sutiibu-sensei and Takeyoshi-san this morning, I spent some time – carefully observed, of course – with Kado-san."

Kimi let out a small gasp. Clearly she had not been informed.

"The thing is…Kado-san was just like me. He was doing what you were, Hotaru…in a way," Koori continued. "When he…when he killed Tarou, it was only to protect himself and his teammates. He was being the best teammate he could; he was just better at it than me. Stronger.

"I hated him for that…but I think I understand now, a little bit. He didn't deserve my hatred. And all of you…you deserved it less." He bowed, stiffly, as best as he could while using a  
crutch, almost level the ground. "I humbly beg your forgiveness."

Shocked, Garuki and I just nodded numbly. What else could we do?

Koori stepped back into line, and bowed toward the Yukikage.

"With that realization, Fuyuno-san, you have shown more growth than any of your ninjutsu or physical abilities have shown me throughout this exam. Your leadership has always been strong; your loyalty, stronger. Your skills are easily Chuunin-level; I think you know this. Now that your rationality has caught up with the rest of you, and I can trust you with your fellow village mates…Fuyuno Koori, I promote you to Chuunin of the Hidden Village of Snow."

Koori's eyes widened, and he bowed quickly, profuse thanks murmured off of his lips. The rest of us tried not to stare; we hadn't been expecting it any more than him.

"And next…his teammate…Ginkaze Kimi." The Yukikage's tone did not give away that she was speaking about her younger sister, but the fond sparkle in her eyes did. "Kimi-san, the growth you have shown during this exam impresses me, I must say. I told you after the Prelims that your abilities have been at Chuunin level for some time, and the new genjutsu you developed since then is almost deserving of a B-rank, closer to Jounin level. However, I also told you at the prelims that you needed to proove you could think like a Chuunin, a squad leader. Kimi-san, you went into the fight well prepared, picking the perfect move set to put yourself ahead of your opponent, but once you were in battle you found yourself unable to adjust to her adjustments. In the end, you were simply outclassed by Ueki-san's abilities and battle judgment. While I firmly believe that you will pass the next test you enter, at this time, I do not feel you are ready for the rank of Chuunin."

Kimi bowed, quietly, accepting. Unlike at the prelims, she put up no fight; even if she wasn't ready for Chuunin rank yet, she had certainly grown.

"Mikata Garuki," Yukiko-sama continued, and Garuki grinned at her from his wheelchair. "My comments for you at the preliminaries were very similar to those for Kimi-san, were they not? I told you that you were strong, but you lacked leadership, and I asked you to keep that in mind. Your fight against Koori-san was stunning, I might say, although I think you might have benefited from the butterflies…" Garuki cringed a bit under the Yukikage's watchful eye. "However, the improvement you showed in your ninjutsu, taijutsu, and pre-battle planning in only one month's time was astounding.

"That said…in the same fashion as Kimi, you found yourself unable to adapt when your opponent changed his game mid-match. For a Chuunin, leading an entire group of ninjas, a skill such as this is not only beneficial, it is necessary. For now, at least, I also recommend that you remain a Genin. I would advise working not only on your abilities, but on your theory, before your next exam."

"Hai, Yukikage-sama," said Garuki, still smiling. It seemed he had expected as much, and he was right to be thrilled by her compliments on his jutsu…

"I believe there is one left," Yukikage-sama said patiently, waiting for me to switch my gaze back from Garuki to her. I bowed quickly in response. "Yoruhana Hotaru. The growth I spoke of in the prelims…it has increased tenfold in you over the course of the last month. In your matches you showed exemplary grace under fire – no pun intended…" I chuckled. "…the ability to adjust quickly to changing situations on the battlefield, and strong use of theory which allowed you to overcome your own lack of high-level techniques against opponents much stronger in that particular field. You were able to make use of what you had…and, when necessary, you were able to pull more out of yourself than you previously thought possible, in the name of protecting yourself, your teammates, and your mission.

"While your last move was a bit reckless, I judge that it was the correct choice given the circumstances, and demonstrated your willingness to even die for a good cause. Hotaru, your techniques have a long way to come, but your mind is that of a fantastic squad leader. Yoruhana Hotaru, I promote you to Chuunin of Snow Village."

I couldn't even move, I was so stunned. Me? Chuunin? Not Garuki or Katana or even Kimi…but me….

Yukiko-san grinned and raised an eyebrow at me. "I think a 'thank you' is in order?"

"Th…thank you, Yukikage-sama!" I blurted out, bowing.

"You've earned it. Koori and Hotaru, I'll need you to stop by my office later to have your jacket sizes taken, and we'll go over your assignments as Chuunin at that time. You are all dismissed."

We turned to leave, talking excitedly amongst ourselves, many congratulations from Kimi and Garuki thrown at Koori-san and I. Right as I was leaving the door…

"Oh, Hotaru-san? I almost forgot."

I turned back to face the Yukikage. She held out a piece of paper, and I walked over and took it.

"What's this?"

"It's an order from the Council."

I scanned over it. "This…is about my brother…?"

She smiled. "It is official permission for entry to the city of Hidden Snow."

"But…they revoked that from him, when he went 'missing'…"

"The council feels that since Ryuro-san has shown no intent to harm the village for so many years now, and since he has a Chuunin-ranked family member representing him and assuring his continued behavior, it would be safe to allow him entry to the city. Provided you remain with him at all times, of course."

"Of…of course!" I stuttered.

"Now, this_ could _be revoked at any time, in the case of his sudden violent outburst," the Yukikage added, winking at me.

"Right…right, of course," I said, smiling.

I thanked her and turned to catch up with my friends. A lot had changed in the past month and a half, indeed.


End file.
